God’s Own Country
Composite Score: 84.5
Starring: Josh O’Connor, Alec Secareanu, Gemma Jones, Ian Hart, and Patsy Ferran
Director: Francis Lee
Writer: Francis Lee
Genres: Drama, Romance, LGBT+
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Box Office: $2.56 million worldwide
Why should you Watch This Film?
God’s Own Country is Francis Lee’s film about a young sheep farmer who finds his life transformed when his family hires a Romanian migrant worker to help in the busy lambing season. The film stars Josh O’Connor as the lead, listless and jaded Johnny Saxby, and Alec Secareanu as the new hire, intense and hardworking Gheorghe Ionescu, joined by Gemma Jones and Ian Hart as Johnny’s grandmother Deirdre and father Martin, respectfully. The performances from the two leads, the film’s showcase of the cold but beautiful Yorkshire landscape, and its exploration of loneliness and relationships have turned it into an indie darling and underground romantic classic worth checking out.
Why shouldn’t you Watch This Film?
God’s Own Country leans hard into its British roots, particularly in the romance between its leading characters. So much of their relationship is left frustratingly unsaid, and while the film seems to be critiquing that method of romance to some extent, it still leaves plenty beneath the surface for both Johnny and Gheorghe. This lack of communication and unexpressed emotion makes the film’s climax and conclusion especially frustrating for viewers, as the conflict between the pair only ever feels partially existent and partially resolved across the film’s back half. If you are British, there’s a good chance that this will speak deeply to you and your sense of uncertainty and need to not be overly expressive. If you aren’t of that sentiment and are used to more open expressions of romance and anger and passion in your romantic dramas, you might find the minimal communication in this film to be rather frustrating more than anything else.
So wait, why should you Watch This Film?
In its exploration of loneliness, God’s Own Country shines particularly bright despite its overcast and often decrepit settings. Johnny’s inability to connect with anyone in his own town is put on display from the jump, highlighted by close-up shots, aggressive sound mixing, and mumbled dialogue. This feeling only gets exacerbated as the audience is introduced to his ailing father, Martin, played by Ian Hart. Martin needs Johnny to stay on and keep the farm running but refuses to allow Johnny to do things his own way, insisting on looking over his shoulder at every turn, as many worried parents do, and with good reason in Johnny’s case, as he’s often drunk and rarely gets all of the work done that he needs to. Martin’s oversight of Johnny only serves to make him more withdrawn and resentful, though. It isn’t until Gheorghe takes Johnny up on the hillside overlooking the country, when we are given an unforgettably beautiful shot of the Yorkshire countryside that Johnny and the film begin to open up to human connection. From that point on, you feel that sense of investment that Johnny also begins to pick up on, driving him and the audience to the film’s optimistic conclusion.
Helping out the film’s exploration of loneliness and the need for human connection to open that up and shift that perspective are the performances from Josh O’Connor and Alec Secareanu. Secareanu provides the heart and soul of the film in his character Gheorghe, offering a new perspective on the world to Johnny, his family, and his town. Having lived more of life and seen more of the world, his portrayal of Gheorghe feels optimistically tender toward those around him while still being realistic about what the woes of the world can bring, perfectly offsetting Johnny’s aggressively jaded outward persona. O’Connor does a fabulous job at playing Johnny’s complexities across the entirety of the film. Even though he refuses to express much feeling at all (intentionally, I think, as part of Lee’s script), the audience can still read so much of what he leaves unsaid in his face and physicality. Somehow, he manages to make this overtly pessimistic and unlikeable wash-up into a loveable romantic lead, and that’s a testament to both his performance and the writing of Francis Lee.
With strong showings from its leading men to bolster its story about loneliness and human connection, God’s Own Country tells a very British romantic story in a fashion worthy of a place among the Greatest Films of All Time. Its British sensibilities can make it difficult for more emotionally driven audiences to connect with, but overall, the film accomplishes what it sets out to do in moving and memorable fashion. It is currently available to stream with ads on Tubi for a short time or to rent on most other streaming services if you’re interested in checking it out.
