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Masterful Movie

Good movie but grossly overrated

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

Funny, strange, confrontational and subversive, this is one of the most interesting experiences you'll have at the cinema this year.

To be gay and fall in love is not easy, for the rookie just as much as for the veteran.The veteran is in the music business where to be gay is as banal as having no hair on your face. It meets a younger one who is not sure what he is. The veteran falls for the novelty of someone who is doing it for love and comfort and not for his glands.The rookie is trying to prove himself by fighting the old way, the way they used to do in the Far West, though we are in Blackpool. No gloves. Feet permitted as much as fists and all other ways to hit and hurt. The audience is there to enjoy the blood and the suffering and the loser going out on a stretcher if possible.But the rookie is initiated to something he wants but he fears and he discovers he likes it, and he likes the man who is giving him that feeling of being loved, of being needed, of being wanted and expected, and he gives back the same. And the absence of the temporary distance of the other is harder than thirst and hunger. The pain of the desire when the object and the soul of that desire is not here is often maddening.But around the veteran, who is in his twenties only, there are other girls who depend on his guidance in their singing, other boys who depend on his enterprise and even shiny PR to become what they maybe are not, even if maybe they are what their boss wants them to become. And temptation is too hard, too burning hot and sooner or later the veteran will fall and the rookie will be trapped with a hangover that will come from an excess of alcohol and unwanted but un-resisted submissive abandon.But jealousy and rivalry brings a break up and the story is then how the two estranged lovers will find a crossroads where their roads can meet. More than touching. Encouraging about the real maturation of men in this world. And it takes courage to just face what you are and believe that most people around you, if they love you a little bit, will accept you the way you are.A film many should see to enjoy that maturation, or to discover what love can be between two men. Burning dedication and freezing need.Dr Jacques COULARDEAU

Somewhat disjointed in continuity, Like It Is nevertheless did hold my interest. Steve Bell, who plays the young boxer Craig, is effective as the bare-knuckle fighter trying to make his way in the world with his bare fists. At the same time he is troubled by the nature of his sexuality as gay impulses begin stirring when he meets Matt, played by Ian Rose. Their first attempt at a physical relationship is a disaster, but later on they consummate their love in a scene that must have been challenging for the two young actors. The film was obviously shot on low budget but the DVD has a couple of "extras," a sign for me that the producers are aiming to capture a larger audience. Unfortunately a big obstacle is the lack of captions. Much of the film was shot in Blackpool in northern England where the regional dialect is difficult for Americans to understand. It is a "foreign language," and the viewers need a break with some interpretation.

Handsome but realistic leads help make this low budget movie worth watching. With Roger Daltery playing record company boss with relish. unimaginative directing doesn't help the obvious limitations caused by a low budget and the script has a few holes in it but all in all it's very watchable and worth getting on dvd.

Paul Oremland shows signs of being an excellent director. There are some awkwardnesses in this film that should have been reshot, but also many of the scenes are excellent, and especially the street scenes seem true to life and very atmospheric. Except for the fight scenes, this movie could cross over and be enjoyable for women. I'd love to see what Oremland can do with a larger budget.