In From The Side (2022) - Film Review

Matt Carter co-writes, co-produces, films, scores, edits, and directs his first feature film. In From the Side centres on two men in a gay men’s rugby club wh0 must conceal an adulterous affair they unwittingly fall into before it leads to the collapse of the delicate social and political fabric of the club.

Based on the concept and casting — this film stars Emmerdale’s Alexander Lincoln and newcomer Alexander King — I was looking forward to this film for awhile but unfortunately, this film didn’t live up to to my expectations.

First and foremost, I completely respect Carter’s dedication to this project. As he worked on so many aspects of this film, he made his mark as the auteur. One aspect I really liked about this film was the cinematography.

Where I struggled with this film — it took me three attempts to finish — was the pacing. There was a clear conflict, but the relationship felt simultaneously rushed along and dragged out in places. I wanted there to be a build up of tension between Mark and Warren. Carter captured small moments of intimacy, but because the characters had slept together within the first twenty minutes of the movie, there was no suspense. As there was no anticipation, the runtime of two hours and fourteen minutes didn’t seem necessary.

So as both the leads are in relationships, one would think this would cause confusion and guilt in both characters, but both of their boyfriends felt more like plot devices. Warren is in an open relationship — which didn’t really contribute to how the character was written or how Lincoln played him.

There were hardly any scenes with his partner as he traveled for work and as Warren never had another relationship on screen outside his boyfriend and paramour, the open relationship could’ve been omitted entirely and it wouldn’t have impacted the overall plot. Warren feeling lonely or unsatisfied with the lack of passion with his boyfriend would’ve been enough character motivation for him to be drawn towards his teammate.

Meanwhile Mark is in a relationship with one of Warren’s teammates. Yet he’s getting a bit of a kick out of stealing risqué moments of passion under his teammates and boyfriend’s noses. Again, this should have caused more conflict among the lovers’ and it does, but not till their love bubble had well and truly burst.

I found the plot slightly more interesting when the affair stepped up a bit. When they can’t keep their eyes (or hands) off each other on a rugby game or a romantic weekend away, we see glimpses of what the characters could be like in a relationship and Warren is confronted with harsh truths about relationships that originate from affairs.

One of the standout moments in this film was between Lincoln and his real life and onscreen mother, Alice Lincoln — their dynamic was so poignant in its simplicity and a beautiful exploration of both characters’ feelings about their significant others.

Outside of the main pairing, we have various subplots with the ensemble that don’t really go anywhere. Or they don’t go the way you expect. From the rugby team’s struggles to keep the B Team (Warren’s team) afloat when Mark’s A Team are performing better in the league, to Warren’s friend’s unrequited feelings which he distracts himself from by drinking himself into oblivion (I thought this film was gonna go a bit Fatal Attraction wih him) to another teammate’s resentment of being left on the bench.

All of the storylines come crashing together and Warren is the one forced to face the consequences of his actions and is abandoned by those he thought were friends or even loved him.

In a move that is kind of reminiscent of many sporting films, Warren is inspired by the power of team comradely to keep playing. Despite the fact these were the same teammates who rejected him at his lowest point, were two-faced and even caused his own relationships outside the team to derail. He was a flawed character and definitely needed to own his mistakes, but any potential power he had to make a difference or decision was taken from him. His teammates outed him, on multiple levels and he had every reason to turn his back on that toxicity.

The romance has a very unsatisfying conclusion, but the actors did bring emotional depth to their roles. By the end of the film, I felt the narrative had come a bit too full circle for my liking.

I am interested to see what Matt Carter comes out with next, but unfortunately In From The Sides wasn’t my cup of tea. However, I will say it was better than My Policeman (2022) and the romance was better than Call Me By Your Name (2015).

My rating for In From The Sides (2022) is ★★½.