Forgive and Forget

Forgive and Forget is not your run-of-the mill made for TV movie. First airing in the UK in 2000, it's now available on DVD. With a good plot and equally good actors, it does raise some questions after you have seen it. But more about that later.

David (Steve John Shepherd who is probably most familiar to North American audiences from the UK series This Life) is a construction worker who, although at times surly and withdrawn, seems to be like all his other workmates. Except he is hiding the secret that he is gay. Theo (John Simm who had a heart-rending role in the Cracker episode "Best Boys") is David's best friend, someone who depends on David to be his "rock", but who is completely unaware that David is gay and, more importantly, that David is in love with him.

When Theo meets Hannah, falls in love and moves in with her, David sees his last chance of telling Theo how he feels slipping away, just as Theo too is slipping away. What transpires when David decides that he cannot let Theo go is the crux of the plot. Deception, betrayal, attempted reconciliation and ultimately freedom. And yet, is it freedom? And yet . . .

I cannot make up my mind if this film is as homophobic as it appears to be. David comes out in an unusual way and he seems more at peace. But his coming out results in his losing so many things that by the end of the film it is hard to decide if it's not just because he came out but as punishment for being gay. At first I felt the scenes of violence, although few, were directed at David because of his gayness. Then I considered that what happened between him and Theo was more about betrayal. Except that Theo's reaction to David's "I love you" is unreasonable and he is only stopped by Hannah's intervention.

The final scene is for me the weakest. It's incongruous and ambiguous (Is David dead? Is he dreaming?) given what it follows and I had to listen to the director's commentary to understand what it was trying to convey.

The film is worth watching again to see if I can sort out whether it depicts the pain that David must go through in order to start his journey or whether it's meant to punish him for even trying. Maybe I'll post after I have watched it once again. If you haven't seen it, rent it and decide for yourself.