The film by writer-director Francis Lee, who grew up on a Yorkshire farm before turning to acting - and, later, filmmaking - is sweet, even if Johnny is not.
Because the movie is less about can they stay together and more about the personal growth from deadbeat to responsibility on the part of the son by letting love in, God's Own Country works magnificently
Although it doesn't tread far from a typical romantic narrative arc, it remains a touching and poetic depiction of what it means to be a gay man in an isolated community.
This is not a movie about coming out and the collateral damage that ensues. It's a universal tale about giving yourself over to love, even when you seem hopelessly broken.
This debut feature from Yorkshire-born actor and first-time director Francis Lee shows the British countryside as a lonely and unforgiving place; his camera unflinching as it captures the graphic realities of livestock farming.
Director/writer Francis Lee's electrifying feature debut is a working-class, fun-house mirror version of "Call Me By Your Name's" upper-class pretensions and is equally, if not more, rewarding because of it.
