Wow. Previous reviews almost dissuaded me from doing it, but I am very, very glad I watched this movie. (What I am about to write may contain >>SPOILERS<<, but I am simply responding to what other reviewers have already written.)
My reaction to this movie is almost exactly the opposite of most other reviewers. I think it got much BETTER at the end, not worse; I think Steve John Shepherd is the weakest actor in the cast, not the best (although it is an extraordinary cast, so he is still very good); I think the responses of his parents (who do NOT brutally reject him (his father SAYS they still love him), they only insist that he leave them alone for a while to deal with the shock) and Theo (David started the violence, not Theo; and David is much bigger and stronger, so using a weapon makes sense) are entirely credible and honest under the circumstances, not at all monstrous or inappropriate; and Hannah had seen the TV show, so her appearance at the end is not at all out of the blue.
The end is strong and very, very positive: David knows himself better than we do, so when he says it is the best day of his life, I believe him. This is a brilliant movie.
(By the way, I am delightedly and militantly gay, and I abhor gay bashing, but there was NONE of it in this movie! As I said, David hit Theo first, Theo hit him back twice with the pipe - and NEVER in the head, so he was not trying to kill him - and what Theo said to David at the end he said because he was deeply hurt and terrified, not because he hates gays.
(Theo is a sweet, sensitive, weak and wimpy guy who had loved and depended on David since they were children, and his world had just been blown to bits on national TV. Give him a break! David is stronger than he is, in every way. It is GOOD, not bad, to see a movie with a strong gay lead! That he can get beat up, alienate his family and only friend, and still say it is the best day of his life is great! This guy is a hero, not a victim.)
My reaction to this movie is almost exactly the opposite of most other reviewers. I think it got much BETTER at the end, not worse; I think Steve John Shepherd is the weakest actor in the cast, not the best (although it is an extraordinary cast, so he is still very good); I think the responses of his parents (who do NOT brutally reject him (his father SAYS they still love him), they only insist that he leave them alone for a while to deal with the shock) and Theo (David started the violence, not Theo; and David is much bigger and stronger, so using a weapon makes sense) are entirely credible and honest under the circumstances, not at all monstrous or inappropriate; and Hannah had seen the TV show, so her appearance at the end is not at all out of the blue.
The end is strong and very, very positive: David knows himself better than we do, so when he says it is the best day of his life, I believe him. This is a brilliant movie.
(By the way, I am delightedly and militantly gay, and I abhor gay bashing, but there was NONE of it in this movie! As I said, David hit Theo first, Theo hit him back twice with the pipe - and NEVER in the head, so he was not trying to kill him - and what Theo said to David at the end he said because he was deeply hurt and terrified, not because he hates gays.
(Theo is a sweet, sensitive, weak and wimpy guy who had loved and depended on David since they were children, and his world had just been blown to bits on national TV. Give him a break! David is stronger than he is, in every way. It is GOOD, not bad, to see a movie with a strong gay lead! That he can get beat up, alienate his family and only friend, and still say it is the best day of his life is great! This guy is a hero, not a victim.)