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Holding the Man

Holding the Man

Drama · 2015

Tim and John fell in love while teenagers at their all-boys high school. John was captain of the football team, Tim an aspiring actor playing a minor part in Romeo and Juliet. Their romance endured for 15 years in the face of everything life threw at it – the separations, the discrimination, the temptations, the jealousies and the losses – until the only problem that love can't solve tried to destroy them.

Movie details

Holding the Man

“A love story for everyone.”

2015 Drama 2h 8m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.7 / 10

Community rating

Tim and John fell in love while teenagers at their all-boys high school. John was captain of the football team, Tim an aspiring actor playing a minor part in Romeo and Juliet. Their romance endured for 15 years in the face of everything life threw at it – the separations, the discrimination, the temptations, the jealousies and the losses – until the only problem that love can't solve tried to destroy them.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Holding the Man?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Neil Armfield

Written by

Tommy Murphy

Ryan Corr

Ryan Corr

Timothy Conigrave

Craig Stott

Craig Stott

John Caleo

Guy Pearce

Guy Pearce

Dick Conigrave

Sarah Snook

Sarah Snook

Pepe Trevor

Anthony LaPaglia

Anthony LaPaglia

Bob Caleo

Geoffrey Rush

Geoffrey Rush

Barry

Camilla Ah Kin

Camilla Ah Kin

Lois Caleo

Court is in session

Put Holding the Man on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.