The Carer

"Ari" (Peter Eyre) arrives at a hospice shortly after the death of his long-term partner "John". The first man he meets is old acquaintance "Neville" (Stephan Chase) before being shown to his room by "Beau" (Barney Glover). Now this latter man is young, handsome and straight - and their initial rapport is little better than cursory. "Beau" is a bit sticky fingered though, and when "Neville" sees him steal a vintage razor from his charge, the young man is facing dismissal - until, that is - "Ari" lies for him and that lie changes the dynamic of the two men's relationship for the remainder of this short, quite poignant, film. I'd sooner have had an extra five minutes at the end and done away with the first five, but the use of gently scored flashback to illustrate the loving relationship "Ari" had lost and the gentlest of kisses does give this a little extra meaning well worth quarter of an hour of your time.

I had a hard time watching the movie because of the old man. We are born to die and the autumn of life is not very pretty for many. This is only a comparison to the old age of the actor Peter Eyre and how with insight and precision he took on his role. No, no, no one dies in the movie. And I'm back to what some short films can do. Beauty is passing away here in the envelope of the soul (meaning the body) of Ari. But in the picture there is the beauty of the young "thief" and the immense inner beauty of the protagonist. I will never forget the movie. I will definitely return to the film again soon, because what is British is usually very high quality in filmmaking.

A gentle, short film about an older gay man, Ari, who checks into an elder care facility upon the death of his long-time partner. Ari has cancer, and finds himself under the care of a young man, Beau. Beau isn't gay, and doesn't seem familiar or interested to any great extent in Ari's life or history.

Nevertheless, a loose relationship develops as Beau senses the vulnerability of the older man. Taking advantage of the vulnerability leads to a twist in the story and a somewhat deeper affinity between the two.

While Ari's fragility seems like an opening for Beau to take advantage, a turn of events creates an interesting ending.

A slightly sentimental, but worthwhile watch.

Nicely acted.