一個(gè)22歲的小帥哥大衛(wèi)愛(ài)上了自己的姐夫，還瞞著姐姐跟姐夫鬼混了2年，正在他對(duì)自己的行為感到迷茫時(shí)，倫敦的舞蹈公司向他拋來(lái)了橄欖枝，他終于可以實(shí)現(xiàn)夢(mèng)想。但這也意味著他和姐夫的關(guān)系也要走到盡頭了。他向姐夫攤牌：他可以留下來(lái)，但姐夫必須和姐姐分手；要不然他就去倫敦追尋自己的夢(mèng)。姐夫自然不會(huì)輕易放棄家庭，于是兩人分道揚(yáng)鑣。在酒吧買(mǎi)醉的那一夜，他邂逅了黑壯男山姆，兩人一夜云雨之后，大衛(wèi)陷入愛(ài)河，認(rèn)為自己找到真愛(ài)。相處一段時(shí)間后，山姆提出兩人正式且長(zhǎng)期的交往，但要去醫(yī)院檢查身體。這一檢測(cè)可不要緊，大衛(wèi)原來(lái)早被姐夫感染了HIV，這意味著姐夫在他之前還跟其他男人好過(guò)，而且姐姐也有危險(xiǎn)。在一場(chǎng)本該溫馨團(tuán)圓的家庭聚會(huì)上，大衛(wèi)向姐姐、姐夫、男友和盤(pán)托出，姐姐歇斯底里，姐夫悔恨交加，仿佛一夜之間，男主失去了家庭、愛(ài)人還有健康。好在男友依然在身邊開(kāi)解他：生命中唯一能夠確定的，就是什么都是不確定的！
這個(gè)故事新穎離奇，卻又時(shí)時(shí)處處融入在現(xiàn)實(shí)的生活之中，全片極具代入感，雖是家長(zhǎng)里短，卻被幾位演員演繹的津津有味。

對(duì)于英倫電影，我覺(jué)得就如世界上很多著名導(dǎo)演的評(píng)價(jià)，代表著世界最高水平，這部電影雖然是那家專(zhuān)門(mén)拍同性主題的小公司(片頭有個(gè)黑貓標(biāo)志)，但是每次看英國(guó)電影我都會(huì)挑一個(gè)特別安靜和舒服的時(shí)刻，靜靜的觀賞，因?yàn)楦瘒?guó)不只能拍畫(huà)面精致，格調(diào)高雅的古典片，對(duì)于同性主題，腐國(guó)的那種由內(nèi)而外，入骨入髓的誘惑，像《輕輕搖晃》、《愛(ài)的初體驗(yàn)》以及《同窗之愛(ài)》都體現(xiàn)的淋漓盡致。這次的小成本電影又聽(tīng)到了久違了的利物浦口音，上次看的英國(guó)同志電影是《無(wú)條件的愛(ài)》，比起那部激情澎湃，高潮迭起又不失樸素的電影，這部片子顯得確實(shí)單薄無(wú)力，尤其從中間開(kāi)始到結(jié)尾，有點(diǎn)像電影學(xué)院學(xué)生作品，雖說(shuō)是有提防艾滋和關(guān)心他人這點(diǎn)血淋淋的教育主題在里面，但是電影表現(xiàn)得方式太死板生硬，而且他把一個(gè)本可以充滿刺激的故事毀掉了。

第一，我覺(jué)得青澀的小舅子大衛(wèi)和成熟英俊的姐夫很有感覺(jué)，不管是眼神，還是互相之間的吸引，酒吧黑人Sam出現(xiàn)以后我就完全喪失了興趣。

第二，電影開(kāi)始的氣氛是非常好的，大衛(wèi)愛(ài)著姐夫，然后又懊惱不能完全占有，姐姐絲毫沒(méi)有覺(jué)察，然后兩個(gè)男人各有需求和難言之隱。這個(gè)時(shí)候酒吧邂逅，我以為如果姐夫因?yàn)槌源撞扇×吮┝κ侄稳ジ缮婊蚴谴笮l(wèi)自己后悔了，發(fā)現(xiàn)這個(gè)只是身材好了點(diǎn)的嗑藥黑人并不是自己想要的，然后黑人想強(qiáng)迫大衛(wèi)留下的時(shí)候，大衛(wèi)逃走回到姐夫身邊，這都會(huì)使劇情有一個(gè)小高潮，比如鏡頭會(huì)繼續(xù)捕捉曖昧的氣氛，拍姐夫是如何每天跟蹤大衛(wèi)，眼神幽幽地?cái)r住他不讓他走，卻又暫時(shí)無(wú)法對(duì)妻子坦白，而大衛(wèi)又如何因?yàn)橐矏?ài)自己的姐姐就接受了這種隱秘的關(guān)系，至于艾滋，壓根更不必扯到劇情來(lái)，如果劇情是這樣，那一定會(huì)繼續(xù)抓著我的心往下看。

第三，艾滋一出現(xiàn)就要把現(xiàn)實(shí)弄的破碎不堪，似乎一切都要變成悲劇。我覺(jué)得電影既然沒(méi)有還沒(méi)有探討真愛(ài)這個(gè)主題，何必淺嘗輒止，轉(zhuǎn)而強(qiáng)調(diào)濫交的后果呢，弄的這部電影兩個(gè)主題都沒(méi)演出深度和創(chuàng)意，愛(ài)憎可能只有姐姐是最清晰的，卻也沒(méi)有突出弟弟和丈夫各自的內(nèi)心狀態(tài)，夫妻，父女，姐弟，同性情人，親戚朋友這些復(fù)雜的相互沖突的關(guān)系也沒(méi)有一個(gè)很透徹的展現(xiàn)。電影只是非常膚淺的講了一個(gè)生活在利物浦的家庭慘劇而已。劇情比較單一，敘事又特別表面化，沒(méi)有給人有血有肉的感覺(jué)，到后面更不像是劇情臺(tái)詞考究的英國(guó)電影了，匆匆忙忙給全部角色判了死刑，對(duì)峙也顯得是刻意安排，明顯看出在演戲。總之中間sam出現(xiàn)以后導(dǎo)演錯(cuò)過(guò)了很多本可以使這部電影脫離乏味的情節(jié)設(shè)置，也沒(méi)有把剛開(kāi)始那種有情調(diào)的隱晦的禁忌之戀延續(xù)下去，非常遺憾。

via http://mrrumsey.com/2015/11/03/exclusive-interview-leon-lopez-talks-soft-lad/

Today we welcome director Leon Lopez to the site in order to talk a little about his new film Soft Lad (released on DVD on the 9th of November). Leon and I talk about what research was involved in the film, about depicitng gay characters on screen and much more. Read on for our interview…

Hello Leon, thanks for taking some time out for this interview today!

It’s my pleasure! Thank you for having me.

First things first, could you briefly introduce Soft Lad to our readers?

Soft Lad is a film I wrote about a young man who gets into an awkward situation, having an affair with his sister’s husband. It’s a coming of age story and deals with two men of different generations battling with demons. We have David (the main character) who’s twenty-two and totally aware of his sexuality, and Jules who’s slightly older and struggling with the pressures of society to conform.

It’s an interesting title, how did the film come to be called that and to what does it refer?

Well soft lad is a Liverpudlian expression that means a stupid boy, silly, as in ‘soft in the head’.

Characters, often gay men, coming to terms with their sexuality is often portrayed as a violent and internal process. Do you think this subject matter makes for particularly rich human drama and did it feel daunting to address such a topic in your first writing and directing venture?

Well I wrote the film initially to talk about issues of HIV awareness but it became a lot bigger than that. It touches on family, love, betrayal and the difference just being born 10 years apart can make to a person. I never really thought or worried about the themes of making the film, the struggle to make it at all with no budget was hard enough. I didn’t really worry what people would think of it. I just knew it was a story that needed to be told. This isn’t the kind of thing that would have been commissioned for TV or funded privately as it deals with issues that are taboo and not of commercial value.

What levels of research did the film require during the writing and directing process?

It was originally a play. And the story came to me whilst I was working in a show called Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens which was set in the 80’s and talks about people who passed away from Aids. I wanted to tell a story with a modern day take on the issue.

The story is an amalgamation of lots of different stories that have happened to people I know. It literally all just started to flow and before I knew it I had written the whole script

Daniel-Brocklebank-and-Jonny-Labey-as-Jules-and-David-in-SOFT-LADAs a director, writer and actor can you tell us in what ways you found the various disciplines inform each other and overlap?

Being an actor definitely influences how I direct. I find that when I work as an actor myself a lot of directors don’t know how to communicate, they are almost afraid of actors. Being an actor/director I am aware of insecurities and feel I’m able to let actors just be themselves.

As a writer I like to write roles I myself would like to play, so yeah I think they all link.

Directing and writing appears to have been a recent development for yourself, was it always something that you intended to venture into? And if so what prompted you to pursue it professionally now?

I have always been a writer, before I became a professional actor I was part of the Liverpool everyman young writers programme for three years. I had some of my really early plays put on there as part of their Write Now festivals each year. Once I began singing, I moved to writing songs over plays, but I always continued to write in some form.

Directing is pretty new though. Working in TV, I was always intrigued by the technical aspects. I believe having a knowledge of everything around you really helps your craft, be it directing, acting, camera-operating etc, so I liked to ask questions and this led to more of an interest. It was in 2010 that I decided I wanted to direct. I produced a pilot written by my friend Daran Little and it went well but wasn’t how I envisaged it, and I realised to have more control I needed to learn to camera operate and direct in order get the exact look and style I wanted.

I went on to write and film some short films, produced some music videos and worked as DOP on other people’s projects for experience. And that’s when I felt I was ready to take on my first feature. It took a few years to get the funding together but then I went out with my tiny, almost nonexistent budget of ￡17,000 and made it!

Craig Stein and Jonny Labey as Sam and David in SOFT LADI see you also have a new short coming out (Hiding in the Shadows), what can you tell us about that and when people will be able to see it?

Well I’m hoping it will be a DVD extra on Soft Lad! Peccadillo like it and are considering letting me add it. It’s a pretty story of two strangers who meet unexpectedly on a park bench. It deals with aspects of loneliness and hope.

And what are your future plans Leon? What should we be keeping our eyes open for?

I have two films I’m writing with my Craig Stein (who plays Sam in Soft Lad) and I have a TV pilot that I’m developing.

I’m also just about to begin a M.A. in filmmaking. A lot of people have asked me why when I’m already making films, but just like with my acting and performing I am a true believer that we need to keep learning. I want to develop my skills as a filmmaker and am extremely excited!

Soft Lad is released on the 9th of Novemeber on DVD, will you be checking it out? Let us know in the comment box below!