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17 August 2017

‘God’s Own Country’ stars talk gay sex scenes and ‘Brokeback’ comparisons

By Ross Semple

God’s Own Country

, a gay drama film about two sheep farmers, looks set to become one of the films of the year, with critics overwhelmingly praising the film’s acting and Francis Lee’s direction.

Attitude sat down with the film’s stars Josh O’Connor and Alec Secareanu for our September issue to talk about the film’s raw, realistic sex scenes, and the comparisons that have been drawn between God’s Own Country and perhaps the most famous gay film of all time, Brokeback Mountain. 

God’s Own Country stars O’Connor as Johnny, a young Yorkshire farmer struggling to carry the weight of his family’s business and who frequently turns to booze and casual sex to cope. When his father hires Gheorghe (Secareanu), a Romanian migrant worker, to help out during the lambing season, Johnny is immediately hostile towards him, but an intense relationship develops nonetheless.

The film is full of demanding scenes that both actors tackle admirably. There’s everything from the graphic live birth of a lamb  to a down-and-dirty wrestle-in-the-mud sex scene. Alec, who is from Romania himself and is making his British acting debut in the film, admits that these scenes were a daunting prospect.  “When I first read the script, I was very afraid of these kind of scenes,” he says.

“But the way each character has sex tells a lot about them; the way that they develop their relationship. Those have to be there because they tell a lot about the characters and the story.”

Josh, 27, reveals that the relationship between the characters led to the two actors forming a close bond. “Our friendship in reality developed as we were falling in love on screen,” he says.

The film has repeatedly been compared to Brokeback Mountain, the 2005 Ang Lee film about two sheep herders, played by Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal, who fall in love while they are alone in the wilderness.

The comparison is understandable: both films are about a couple of young sheep farmers overcoming adversity to find love in a bleak-but-beautiful rural setting. And while there are some knowing and affectionate nods to Brokeback in this film, that’s where the similarities end.

“OK, it’s a love story but it depends how you tell it,” says Alec, 32. “Every love story has been told a million times but they’re two different films, two different aesthetics, the characters are not similar at all.”

God’s Own Country opens in UK cinemas on September 1. Watch the trailer below:

Check out the full interview in the September issue of Attitude – out now. Buy in print, subscribe or download.More stories:
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