2024 Entry #022 01-17-24 “In from the Side” is a 2022 British romantic drama film from Matt Carter (“Jayson Bend: Queen and Country”, “Falling”) who directed it and also co-wrote it with Adam Silver. The film tells the story of Mark Newton (played by “not straight” Alexander Lincoln) and Warren Hunt (Alexander King), two players from a cash-strapped, divided gay rugby club, who embark on a romantic affair they struggle to hide from their partners and teammates.
I actually saw this film last March when I thought I’d be doing queer film reactions in 2023 as well, but I changed my mind about that and decided to take the year off. Now that I’m back I wanted to revisit what I had seen last year and this was the first entry I got back to. Honestly, the first time I saw this movie, I didn’t really enjoy it all that much. I kind of went in expecting one thing and got something very, very different – and there were a lot of things there that I wasn’t sure how I felt about. I enjoyed it a lot more the second time. It’s not a perfect film; it drags a bit at times, but it has a lot to say about honesty, dishonesty, infidelity, respect, self respect, decency, joy, life, relationships, heartbreak, friendship, team spirit and fellowship. It’s worth a look.