User reviews

I almost skipped this film due to some bad reviews I read about it, and therefore was surprised to find that it is quite enjoyable and interesting. Acting is great, especially Tovey Russel's performance which I found excellent in spite of a somewhat exaggerated character script. I admit the subject treatment is a bit outdated, and the script is more suitable for chamber theater than for a film. But still, this is a very good gay flick.

The 4 actors in this movie are better than a lot of those main stream actors praised by the media. The plot is so meaningful that reflects the lives o at least 3 of the best football players in our generation, because if they come out, they are done. The movie is not "claustrophobic", the rooms reflect how they have to live their intimate life, in a box. But for the unsophisticated "revivers", most likely either homophobic or the type who can only post negative views - reflecting what they feel inside - did not get the main message of the movie: Power - Shame - Insecurity Societal and Professional Homophobic rules -and bad choices that can all lead to deep unhappiness and misery.

Great movie, great actors, great story but sad and reflective of how unfair life can be.

Russell Tovey plays Jason who is with his team mate Ade (Arinze Kene) in a hotel room in Romania on the night before a big game. They spend the night talking of dreams, the chances they may take and horsing around just this side of being overtly homoerotic.

The air is crackling with sexual tension and then the story moves on into the future and that is where it gets very interesting and quite deep. To say more would ruin the plot. Now this is essentially a play in three acts and it could easily be staged. The cast is minimal and that means that everyone has to be on top form and they all are. Tovey has to carry most scenes but he is ably supported by the others involved.

This is a gay based film but it is not a bedroom fest but does feature a fair bit of nakedness but not the Full Monty type either. This is a film for those who like a very human story and have an interest in why so few football professional players have ever come out of the very packed footie closet.

I love how concentrated this film is. The movie even without heavy plot surrounds its focus on just one night that impacted both characters for the rest of the film. What I really was able to appreciate about Russell and Arinze was their ability to add such a nuance to their emotional back-and-fourth conversations. You felt each actor process and think each delicate situation in the film.

This movie didn't need constant emotion and many characters because the focus is on something more detailed and less dramatized. This is the type of film you see as snip-its from an actors day-to-day life rather than a cherry picked group of scenes with dramatic moments that make the viewer always on the edge or emotional. In the mix of dramatic and emotional moments, there are solid moments of lighter dialogue and body language that speak heavily to how the characters are feeling throughout the whole film and that's what sold it for me.

The only good part of Russell Tovey in this movie is his shirtless and bulge scenes. His acting gets annoying and repetitive, shallow and nothing meaningful to offer. The story is interesting if it was well played and directed. The slightest exciting part of this movie starts at 1h after the beginning.

This movie seems to be about choices. Those you can make and those you cant and how those things can and will affect you your whole life. The whole thing was sad but beautiful and I don't know what to do with myself now.

I really enjoyed the movie and the acting was great. The way it portrayed the range of emotions in the different relationships were very poignant and authentic. Russell Tovey was amazing and gave a layered performance. Arinze Kene should definitely be given more roles in the future. I hope UK cinema realizes what they have before he is forced to go to the US for work.

In 2 of 3 acts, the hunky leads spend much of their time shirtless, down at times to underwear, which screams "gay exploitation". But the subject is serious - does it make you happy to be rich and famous, while betraying your best mate, and more so, your true self?

Adapted from a stage play, all 3 acts are set in (different) hotel rooms. However, there is much discussion about what happens on the football (soccer) field. The title has dual meaning - there is a physical pass, and a football pass, both key to the central drama.

"The Pass" has the distinction of being the first British film to devote itself entirely to the subject of homosexuality in Premiere League Football. It's a subject crying out to be tackled, (no pun intended), but this depressingly one note treatment isn't the way to do it. It's based on a play, first performed at the Royal Court a couple of years back, and it shows. Divided into 3 short acts over a ten year period, it's the story of Jason, a deeply closeted footballer who tries to hide his homosexuality by marrying, having children and, when the rumors get too much, having a sleazy sex- tape made with a dancer, all the while pinning for Ade, his black footballer buddy who had the courage to pack it in and come out of the closet.

There are moments when the film actually seems to be going somewhere and to be fair to writer John Donnelly it does attempt to show the hypocrisy of what it's like to be gay in the most macho of sports and then be forced to deny it but it's a nasty and unpleasant piece with a central character you can never empathize with. Jason is just the kind of prick you would cross the street to avoid. All credit to Russell Tovey for playing the part so brilliantly but a little more sympathy on the part of the writer could have gone a long way.

As the woman he hires for his sex tape Lisa McGrillis is also excellent and there is a nice cameo from Nico Miralegro as an over eager hotel bellboy. Sadly Arinze Kene as his would-be lover and the only nice character on screen, isn't up to the job; his performance like the film itself feels well below par. This might be how things are but it doesn't make for an entertaining, or even enlightening, evening at the cinema.

I've just watched "The Pass". It was much more rewarding than two other reviews on this site might suggest. I think that they were deliberately posted by homophobes in order to diminish the attractiveness of this movie. To confirm my view, I'd just suggest that you consider the "External Reviews" on this site. All of the English reviews are overwhelmingly positive, which makes me think that there are some people out there who try, very deliberately, to denigrate or otherwise diminish the quality of any gay themed movies.

Now, to the movie itself. It's a tale of two young footballers, one black and the other white. While they feel a certain attraction to one and other, it is only in their later lives that they are able to come to terms with it. I think it to be a really good movie with interesting messages.

Just how beautiful is "The Beautiful Game"? Only you can determine that. But I thought this to be a good and thoughtful movie. Russell Tovey was believable, handsome, beautiful and excellent in his role, as was his counter-part, Arinzé Kene. Two good-looking men. They are just surprised when they are attracted to one and other.

I give the movie 8/10 for its honesty in examining relationships between men. It's a subject which is not often covered in the movies.

If you choose to watch it, then I trust that you will enjoy it.

What does the struggle to accept who you are look like? How does it manifest in your life? How does it affect the decisions you make or your actions? For one, it may have ruined their dream career but they flourished in life. The other...they flourished in their dream career but they are drowning in the sorrows of missed opportunities of love. The movie isn't half bad. But sweet Jesus the ridiculous dialogues that went for what felt like hours...was too much! Back and forth and back and forth...like a seesaw. Up and down. Happy and sad. Anger and calm. In my heart I wish they would have just chosen one. It was sad to watch someone be so lost in who they are versus who they portray to be. You can feel the break in them as they speak. You can see the break. Lastly and relatively randomly...why the hell was two guys in their tighty-whities? Is that what mean do? Is that what gay men do? Because it was very awkward to see. I wouldn't watch it again. But it wasn't bad.

This was such a pleasant surprise. I truly did not know anything other than this being an LGBT- film, and boy was it more than that. It's not exactly an LGBT romance film, and surely not one of a couple blossoming. Instead, it's a quiet heavy and quiet dark character study of one broken man. Arinzé Kene is very good and I hope this helps him get more roles, but it's truly Russell Tovey's film and he delivers. I thought he was quite good in Looking, but I never knew he would be possible of the deeper places he goes to here. It's an incredibly performance that should stand as one of the year's best.

Here we have a bummer of a story line about a gay soccer player who will DO ANYTHING to achieve a high status position as a professional soccer player. Story is told across a ten year timeline and takes place in 3 different hotel rooms. Acting is good which is why I gave it 6 stars instead of 3. The central character is vile and pathetic; hence, it's not worth watching. It's not really about being gay and in the closet; it's about valuing one's passion so much that one's character and ethical behavior take a back seat.

The Pass does in deed look at the taboo subject of being an openly gay man in top flight British football, and indeed sport generally. It's a cooking pot we all know will explode one day when shock horror a top flight player will come out. The film relies on the acting talents of two principles, Russell Tovey and Arinzé Kene, the acting is fabulous, Tovey in particular such a talented actor. I truly bought into the way in which the film spanned the three ages, makeup etc was excellent. Unfortunately It's not a film that would appeal to the mainstream, a pity because it's a great film with a powerful message.

This is what happens when you are just trying to meet quotas for the BAFTA nominations. You make a joke of a movie.

I had the pleasure of watching this film during the 2017 Outfest Film Festival in Los Angeles and all I kept thinking to myself is WOW! This film was so well done and real to life. I actually know several personal friends who have chosen the path of career over finding true love. The results can be loneliness and missed opportunities. This film shows three different stages where love opportunities where missed over career goals. There are many levels to this film so I won't give anything from this film away. You MUST watch this film with an eye for details for there are many layers of story being told simultaneously. The actors were superb. Specially the main character who carried the film very well with conviction and authenticity. Kudos to him. Highly recommended. Beautifully done and executed.

"The Pass" is based on a play by John Donnelly, was lately made into a movie by Ben A. Williams and deals with the subject of sports (in this case football) and homosexuality. One should know that before watching the movie. Those who expect explicit sex scenes between excited gay guys are totally wrong here. The film offers the finest of actors cinema, is more of a chamber-like psycho-study and can not muster with action scenes. But if you get involved with the psychology of the characters, the film becomes an experience. The story spans a period of ten years and begins in a hotel room in Romania. Two young footballers, Jason (Russell Tovey) and Ade (Arinze Kene),are really excited the night before their first big Champions League match, make a lot of nonsense and prepare for the match. And suddenly without any warning Jason kisses his mate Ade. This kiss will completely change and determine their relationship and their lives over the next decade. And as the story begins, so it ends, in a hotel room, where the two friends meet again. Director Williams filmed the entire story in just one or two rooms. This sometimes claustrophobic tightness is intended to illustrate how trapped Jason is in his life, from which he can not break out and free himself. Williams tells us with his story that the alleged winner is sometimes the bigger loser. And to the viewer (our society), the director wants to convey that if we were finally ready to accept people as they really are, tragedies like Jason's would be avoidable. The most tragic thing in the end is that Jason does not manage to change his life. Though completely devastated, he does not manage to jump over his shadow and remains lonely. He will live on as before, trapped in his own hell - to the bitter end. On the question of the friend which intent was hidden behind his behavior on the fateful night ten years ago, Jason can only answer incapable: "I don't know". But that is not the truth. We learn what the true intention was when we watch the last scenes of the movie, where is shown what happened after the kiss...(and only then we understand it correctly, because for a few seconds we discover the real Jason and that is deeply touching). Russell Tovey is undoubtedly the unlimited star of the movie, an outstanding actor, but unfortunately completely undervalued internationally. He lives openly gay and deals with this fact in his work for a couple of years. In the UK, he seems to have no major problems with this, but internationally (lets say Hollywood) it is still not trusted that gay men could play heterosexual love scenes. He has often proved how well he is capable of doing so. Unfortunately, big international roles, which would suit him, are not offered to Russell. What a waste of talent ! Russell Tovey is completely absorbed in his role, you can say he lives it out. He has his best scenes towards the end of the film, as the facade of Jason begins to crumble, e.g. when Ade asks him, "Now that you need me, you want me to stay with you?" and Jason answers with a tearfully voice: "You're the last thing I remember of any value", then one feels such a strong intensity and deep honesty that one asks oneself very moved, how one can play this so convincingly. If "The Pass" was not an independent movie and had been produced on a big budget and started in cinemas nationwide with 400 copies and then worldwide, Casey Affleck would probably have lost out at this year's Oscars. As in the film, here we have the proof that the best one is not always the winner and those who earn it are often left out. Encore Russell, encore...

Russell Tovey and Arinzé Kene are two young football players on the verge of having bigger careers when they share a hotel room the night before a big game. The titular moment happens, and then we see the fallout five and then ten years later in two different hotel rooms.

I was struck by the large disparity between how much I wanted to like this film and how little I really did. It was adapted by John Donnelly from his successful play, and it's one of the most clear "adapted from a play" films I have seen with three equal length acts involving a couple of people standing in small rooms and talking. It's a film where I really liked it's overall arc, but didn't really enjoy much of what it took to get there.

It does have a truly heroic amount of very ripped, shirtless men, so that will add an extra element for many viewers.

This movie is an underdog. Great film, but definitely not for everyone. This movie watches easily like a three act play, so expect to watch multidimensional characters being played expertly by Tovey and his fellow actors, 4 actors total throughout the movie. The storyline is well constructed but imaginary, as a lot of it evolves through conversation, so not for you if you expect a lot of action. The story is is real and heart-wrenching.

Like mentioned in the title, the acting for this movie is good from pretty much all actors. But the story itself, the pace, the characters, the cinematography (non existent), the audio editing... everything is so boring. Let's not mention how pathetic and arrogant Tovey's character is, he's truly unlikable.

It's weird for me to write is as I usually love LGBT movies and it does take a lot for me to dislike a movie, but this one is very boring. Maybe if I watched it only focusing on the movie it would be better, instead of doing some work at the same time, but I felt the entire movie was just one long boring scene from a movie that could have been great.