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Coming Out (UK)

By Golu
BBC had introduced a new program called 'Play For Today' in 1970, a premier slot for new plays, sometimes adapted from other media, often original works for television. Over three hundred Plays for Today were made between 1970 and 1984. The series has a rich heritage, being an intended showcase for new writers but also hosting work by established names. The film/play 'Coming Out' was telecast back in 1979 as part of this series.

Lewis Duncan, is a successful writer of (straight) romance novels. With a younger boyfriend, Richie , he’s known to his secretary and his friends as gay, but is not out to the public and has little time for gay activism. Everyone around Lewis tells him he should come out, but coming out has material consequences. He writes an article under a pseudonym on gay issues which surprisingly becomes very popular and he receives a ton of fan mail. Meanwhile, his own personal life is not the best. Their closest friends, another gay couple have their own issues, and his boyfriend Richie is having an affair with one of them. At dinner table, his older friend makes clear the many issues facing gay men, including the police threat. But Lewis never acknowledges this reality until it hits him square in the face. The film ends upon a positive note, as Lewis commits to writing out his own experiences, clacking away at his typewriter under his real name.

I am very sure that back when it was telecast in 1979, it must have been a huge experimental risk for the network to take up on. Lewis is not a sympathetic character. For him,  if he's in the closet getting along nicely and quietly then it's his belief that others should be too. A self-hating homosexual, Lewis finds himself in the ironic position (thanks to the article) of being a figure for readers to open up to. Some of his selfish contempt is challenged by a young Black sex worker he picks up, who recounts how he is routinely beaten, has been stabbed by one off duty policeman/punter and just how limited his opportunities are - a stark contrast to the still hypothetical limitations Lewis may face should he come out. All the actors do a splendid job actually and I was totally into the 70s feel of the film. Part of me does relate to Lewis' predicament because it must hav not been easy for men, successful ones, especially to come out in the open for fear of being ostracized, but its only when truth hits hard, do some people start seeing the reality of things.

A post-liberation novelty about gay male identity through the eyes of a closeted conservative writer who believes all gay men should be more like him. The execution is lumbering and flawed but the results are interesting enough for a short television production from the late 70s. (5.5/10)
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