Weekend (2011)

94% of critics liked it
(72 reviews)
86% of users liked it
(3,189 ratings)

Weekend follows Russell (newcomer Tom Cullen, Best Actor winner at Nashville), who, after randomly picking up artist Glen (Chris New) at a nightclub on a Friday night, unexpectedly spends most of the next 48 hours with him in bedrooms and bars, telling stories and having sex, while developing a… More Weekend follows Russell (newcomer Tom Cullen, Best Actor winner at Nashville), who, after randomly picking up artist Glen (Chris New) at a nightclub on a Friday night, unexpectedly spends most of the next 48 hours with him in bedrooms and bars, telling stories and having sex, while developing a connection that will resonate throughout their lives. This affecting and naturalistic romance is beautifully realized, earning comparisons to Richard Linklater's Before Sunrise in its exploration of how two people can come together only briefly, yet impact each other in a profound way. -- (C) Sundance Selects

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Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 36 min.
Directed By: Andrew Haigh
Written By: Andrew Haigh
Genres: Drama, Action & Adventure

In Theaters: Sep 23, 2011 Limited
Studio: IFC Films

Critic Reviews

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune
It's a definitive example of naturalistic moviemaking -- you feel you're breathing the air that the characters are breathing.
Kyle MacMillan, Denver Post
Its final moments offer a vision of what a contemporary romance can achieve: an appreciative gasp of truth, a wet-eyed hope for more.
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe
One of the truest, most beautiful movies ever made about two strangers.
Dana Stevens, Slate
If you've ever met someone who changed your life in the space of days, you'll relate to something in this movie.
Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post
The organ that "Weekend" is most concerned with isn't the one you might think, but the human heart.
David Wiegand, San Francisco Chronicle
In just a short period of time, a weekend hookup tests the boundaries each man has set for himself.
Catherine Bray, Film4
Weekend has romance to spare, but also takes a look at the cogs turning under the surface of any thoughtful encounter, however brief.
Matthew Toomey, ABC Radio Brisbane
Through two wonderful performances from Tom Cullen and Chris New, writer-director Andrew Haigh has captured the many emotions associated with a new relationship.
Thomas Caldwell, Cinema Autopsy
Weekend is one of the most impressive films ever made about love. Haigh's confidence and intelligence as a filmmaker, has resulted in a sincere and emotionally engaging film.
Andrew L. Urban, Urban Cinefile
Made with all the technical disadvantages of a home movie - dirty and confusing sound recording, sloppy camerawork (but here it's intentional, meant to look arty)
Louise Keller, Urban Cinefile
In an intimate exploration of its central relationship, this boy meets boy story addresses all the issues of being gay and meets them head on
Richard Knight, Knight at the Movies
A stunningly simple, nearly perfect example of a romance movie whose burgeoning couple just happens to be gay.
Alonso Duralde, What the Flick?!
The best film of 2011.
Tim Brayton, Antagony & Ecstasy
Simplicity personified... character- and emotion-driven cinema at its purest and densest and most haunting.
Rob Thomas, Capital Times (Madison, WI)
Part of the brilliance of Haigh's film is how specific the characterizations are of his two main characters, how their different natures both allow for the possibility of love and impede it.
Amber Wilkinson, Eye for Film
Deserves to find a place in the hearts of wistful romantics everywhere, no matter what their sexual preference.
David Parkinson, Radio Times
It's splendidly played with an understated intensity that deftly captures the shifting emotional tone of the relationship.
Samuel Wigley, Sight and Sound
Weekend is finally a deeply romantic film, assured of the pleasure that one person can find in another, but rooted in the quirks and textures of contemporary British life.
Alistair Harkness, Scotsman
Offers up the kind of subtle, truthful relationship drama that's all too rare in cinema.
Philip French, Observer [UK]
There's a fresh, sweaty, honest, unpretentious air to it, and when they part, with Glen on his way to spend a year working in Portland, Oregon, we genuinely believe that something like love has come into their yearning lives.

Read all 25 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Carlos M

A wonderfully honest and realistic portrayal of a sexual encounter leading to something profound and unexpected. In essence a universal story, even if centered on two gay men, and it is so easy to identify with these characters who are so three-dimensional, well constructed and… More
A wonderfully honest and realistic portrayal of a sexual encounter leading to something profound and unexpected. In essence a universal story, even if centered on two gay men, and it is so easy to identify with these characters who are so three-dimensional, well constructed and complex.
Robert C

Remarkably well done. Uncomfortably insightful. And surprisingly moving. It's not often that I see a "gay themed" film that I feel is really well done and doesn't rely on stereotypes and cliches to try and make audiences feel "connected". This… More
Remarkably well done. Uncomfortably insightful. And surprisingly moving. It's not often that I see a "gay themed" film that I feel is really well done and doesn't rely on stereotypes and cliches to try and make audiences feel "connected". This (very intimate) look into a very intense (albeit) brief romance and how a few raw, honest hours can effect a person more deeply then years of the shallow inane and often insincere interactions that we have all come to accept (for the most part) as the status quo. As good as the writing and directing are...it's the two lead actors that really make this film work. Tom Cullen (Russell) in particular, gives an amazing performance. I dare you not to fall in love with this guy.
Greg S

A lifeguard who's halfway in the closet picks up a more confident artist at a gay bar, and they spend the weekend together taking drugs, having sex and discussing their deepest secrets. Very naturalistic and believable with excellent acting and dialogue; the best… More
A lifeguard who's halfway in the closet picks up a more confident artist at a gay bar, and they spend the weekend together taking drugs, having sex and discussing their deepest secrets. Very naturalistic and believable with excellent acting and dialogue; the best "queer" movie I've seen, it blends universal hman emotions with gay-specific concerns.
William D

"Weekend" is a remarkable little film from England shot on a shoestring budget that has far more power than most movies with 100 times its budget. It tells the story of two intelligent gay men just entering middle age who meet in a club one night and have a fairly… More
"Weekend" is a remarkable little film from England shot on a shoestring budget that has far more power than most movies with 100 times its budget. It tells the story of two intelligent gay men just entering middle age who meet in a club one night and have a fairly perfunctory one-night stand. Slowly but surely in the morning, as the drunken haze departs, they realize that they really like each other. A dinner that evening confirms it. They stay up nearly all night, talking non-stop. Actors Tom Cullen and Chris New are so real that at times you think you're watching a documentary. Anyone who has ever had a one-night stand will recognize the odd mixture of intimacy and remoteness on the morning after that Cullen and New bring to life so perfectly. It's also beautiful to watch the gradual blossoming of feelings of love. Because of a plot detail that I won't reveal, the fledgling relationship runs into a massive challenge right away. Watching characters deal with this is captivating, especially given the fact that the script is so fine and so true to life. Writer/director Andrew Haigh, heretofore a complete unknown, pulls off some kind of miracle and creates one of the most beautiful stories of troubled love that I really have ever seen. Gay men will be especially taken up by the story, and the film is certain to become something of a gay classic. But anyone who cares about the human heart will be moved by "Weekend." It would be fascinating to have a roundtable discussion after a screening of "Weekend" to hear from straight men, lesbians and others about the aspects of themselves that they saw in the story. I would especially like to hear from straight men about what they felt was behind the resistance to relationships shown by Chris New's character. "Weekend" continues the remarkable winning streak that we've had with art-house releases in 2011, especially from new filmmakers. Thank heavens for indie filmmakers; they have rescued 2011.
Walter M

In "Weekend," Russell(Tom Cullen) leaves a friendly gathering on a Friday night, so he can go clubbing. At one nightspot, he gets quite inebriated, picking up Glen(Chris New) to bring home with him. The following morning, he makes the obligatory coffee to bring to Glen in… More
In "Weekend," Russell(Tom Cullen) leaves a friendly gathering on a Friday night, so he can go clubbing. At one nightspot, he gets quite inebriated, picking up Glen(Chris New) to bring home with him. The following morning, he makes the obligatory coffee to bring to Glen in bed. What Glen is more interested in doing is walking through the events of the previous night for an art project he is working on. More erotic than passionate, "Weekend" is pretty much a two-hander, so to speak, trying to explore the different ways straights and gays are perceived and how this affects their lives. While there are some intelligent thoughts here centered around how everybody should live their lives openly, actions such as public displays of affection have to be sincere, regardless. In any case, I do believe the technical term for anybody who brags about his sex life is an asshole. For example, at first I thought Russell might be uncomfortable in his own skin but after he turns the tables on Glen, I realized he is probably just reserved and there is nothing wrong with that. For the record, I have been in a hotel alone in Portland, Oregon and was not at all miserable. And friends are a blessing but cliques are not. So maybe, the sign "Way Out" framed at the end does not mean the same thing it did in "The Prisoner."
Glenn G

Kind of like MY DINNER WITH ANDRE, if those guys had skipped the entree, done a lot of drugs, and shagged for days. This beautifully shot and felt film runs deeper than I had heard. Just two gay guys meeting and hanging out for a few days...it has a gentle yearning for… More
Kind of like MY DINNER WITH ANDRE, if those guys had skipped the entree, done a lot of drugs, and shagged for days. This beautifully shot and felt film runs deeper than I had heard. Just two gay guys meeting and hanging out for a few days...it has a gentle yearning for connection...something anyone can appreciate. Lovely performances and cinematography, unexpected framing, and fascinating unspoken passages. It feels like we're hearing the unspoken last works from LOST IN TRANSLATION - - that intimate moment we've all wanted to hear.
Jeff T

Fresh, true, tiny and kind of perfect, WEEKEND is the BEFORE SUNRISE/SUNSET movie for the gay generation. A quiet and amazingly observed examination of two guys who meet and spend 48 hours in bed, in conversation and in thrall, it's one of the best things I've seen in a… More
Fresh, true, tiny and kind of perfect, WEEKEND is the BEFORE SUNRISE/SUNSET movie for the gay generation. A quiet and amazingly observed examination of two guys who meet and spend 48 hours in bed, in conversation and in thrall, it's one of the best things I've seen in a long time. The performances by the two guys are simply breathtaking, and the writing and direction are so assured and so simple that you may not even notice how stunning it is. It's no small achievement to capture two humans just existing in real time with each other, and more than any film I can remember, this film does just that. You don't feel like a fly on the wall - you feel like you're actually there. And your heart may break before the thing is over. But don't worry; that's what hearts are for.
Chihoe H

An utterly raw and honest portrayal, "Weekend" explores a one-night stand that turns into 48 hours together. Over the course of the weekend, the two individuals share their emotional longings and frustrations, their thoughts on anything from relationships to gay rights, and… More
An utterly raw and honest portrayal, "Weekend" explores a one-night stand that turns into 48 hours together. Over the course of the weekend, the two individuals share their emotional longings and frustrations, their thoughts on anything from relationships to gay rights, and open their hearts as they recount vignettes from their personal histories. Comparisons to "Before Sunrise" are just and deserving because "Weekend" does what the former did well in â" having a naturalness and insightfulness emerging from provocative conversations and flowing chemistry between the leads. Furthermore, it shows how one can be of such an influence to another, regardless of how brief their time spent together is.
Alec B

I'm utterly fascinated by how director Andrew Haigh takes moments of extreme catharsis and makes them feel real, like we were watching a documentary rather than a work of fiction. Its one of the few times an attempt at serious realism in film doesn't seem forced. The two… More
I'm utterly fascinated by how director Andrew Haigh takes moments of extreme catharsis and makes them feel real, like we were watching a documentary rather than a work of fiction. Its one of the few times an attempt at serious realism in film doesn't seem forced. The two central performances of Tom Cullen and Chris New shouldn't be discounted, they manage to convey two very different personality types that are extremely attracted to one another. Even their arguments are filled with a kind of explosive sexual energy. Also, my high review is probably due to the fact that this film parallels a lot of recent developments in my own life and that 'Weekend is basically the best example of modern gay life in recent memory.
Daniel P

This. *This* is what it's like to be gay, at least for me. Review soon.
Daisy M

What can women say about a gay film? Well not much I guess but it was surely not much to praise. Weekend was a low-budget indie film that had its moments.A very slow film, which was not a problem, because I like these kind of slow films.The problem was that besides the dialog, not… More
What can women say about a gay film? Well not much I guess but it was surely not much to praise. Weekend was a low-budget indie film that had its moments.A very slow film, which was not a problem, because I like these kind of slow films.The problem was that besides the dialog, not much happened here. Slow films were supposed to build up a tension, so that the last half hour would be packed with good plot twists. In this case, the story was not going anywhere. We could only see the two leads talking a lot, going out, doing drugs and having sex. The sex scenes were raw and passionate, and there were also interesting camera angles. But despite all this, the whole story fell flat, giving an unsatisfied feeling at the end. Also, the characters could have been better developed, at the end I didn't get to know them at all, despite all the dialog. Its not that it was a bad film, but not exactly a profound story, with well-developed characters in an interesting plot.