Holding the Man

Based on Timothy Conigrave's titular 1995 memoir, published posthumously after both Conigrave and his longtime lover John Caleo died of AIDS, this heartfelt but uneven adaptation from director Neil Armfield haphazardly jumps through the nearly two decades of their relationship. The story begins with the boys finding one another as classmates in a Melbourne Jesuit high school, and quickly becoming inseparable despite attempts by their families to keep them apart. Moving to Sydney to continue their studies—Tim (Ryan Corr) at a prestigious dramatic academy, John (Craig Stott) in a chiropractic school—the pair remain a couple, despite John's discomfort with Tim's more extrovert lifestyle. Ultimately, both are diagnosed as HIV-positive, and Tim nurses John through his final days before repairing to an island off the Italian coast to write his book. One can't help but be moved by the basic narrative, which is essentially a gay version of Love Story that is made more powerful by its foundation in fact. Sequences highlighting the homophobia of the time resonate, and the hospital scenes here skirt the obvious dangers of mawkishness. But Corr and Stott are simply too old to be convincing as 16-year-old boys in the long 1976 section of the film, the dialogue is often stilted, and even veterans like Guy Pearce and Anthony LaPaglia (as the boys' fathers) and Gregory Rush (as Tim's snide drama teacher) have difficulty bringing much nuance to their characters. Although it could have been better, this powerful true-life narrative is—despite flaws—a strong optional purchase. [Note: DVD extras include cast and crew interviews (14 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: a small extras package for an uneven but often stirring film.] (F. Swietek)