BEDROOMS AND HALLWAYS

BEDROOMS AND HALLWAYS is a low-budget British film from 1998 that has only recently been released in the United States. It is a light, breezy comedy about friends and lovers, many of whom are actively homosexual or of nebulous “sexual orientation.” Although it promotes an immoral, hedonist lifestyle, it is, regrettably, charming and funny nonetheless.

BEDROOMS AND HALLWAYS plot intertwines the lives and loves of several Generation-X friends in London. The main character is Leo (Kevin McKidd), a young homosexual who decides to join a ‘90s-style “men’s group” at the suggestion of a straight friend. As the men beat drums and celebrate their maleness, BEDROOMS AND HALLWAYS delivers a clever send-up of these support groups for modern disenfranchised males, and Leo develops an attraction to a fellow member, Brendan (James Purefoy).

In a particularly hilarious scene, the men pass around an “honesty stone” that, when held, is supposed to elicit a deep, closely guarded confession. When Leo takes hold of the stone, he admits his fascination with Brendan, and thus divulges his sexuality. This double revelation throws the group into a mild tizzy of disbelief, tinged with curiosity. One group member is horrified, others are simply bemused and curious, and one member begins to question his own sexual proclivities. The apparently straight Brendan, meanwhile, takes Leo’s admission in stride and acknowledges he is flattered. Later, he invites Leo to go get a pint at a local pub. Slowly the two become friends, and, eventually, Leo realizes the ultimate homosexual fantasy: with surprising ease, he seduces the allegedly straight, virile Brendan.

Meanwhile, Leo’s friends endure their own romantic complications. Darren (Tom Hollander), Leo’s flamingly homosexual best friend (with whom he shares a platonic relationship), is involved with a debonair real estate agent with a penchant for sex in unoccupied houses. Leo’s friend Sally (Jennifer Ehle), his former high-school sweetheart, thinks her boyfriend is having an affair and wants to track down his clandestine lover. Angie (Julie Graham), Leo’s other best friend, spends most of her time hanging out with her male homosexual friends instead of finding a nice straight man to love. Finally, the married couple who founded the men’s group and its sister organization, a support group for women, simply delight in observing their single friends’ entanglements.

And, how entangled they are! As BEDROOMS AND HALLWAYS unfolds, its characters’ lives become increasingly interwoven – in more ways than even they realize. To further complicate matters (and to reinforce this tale’s postmodern flavor), everyone’s sexual identity seems astonishingly – and unrealistically – fluid. Sally and Leo briefly rekindle their high-school flame. Brendan claims that Leo is his first homosexual lover, and that he never considered a homosexual affair before he met Leo. (Toward the end of the film, however, Brendan’s sexuality becomes even more dubious.) Leo discovers the identity of Sally’s boyfriend’s lover. Suffice it to say, he doesn’t like what he finds.

If all this sounds appallingly immoral, it is. The movie portrays sexual ambiguity as normal and even commonplace. Yet the libertines of BEDROOMS AND HALLWAYS are surprisingly amiable. Leo is earnest and well-meaning, Sally is sweet with a gentle smile, and Darren, with his florid shirts and flamboyant leopard-print hats, is simply hilarious. Tom Hollander plays this role to its hilt, and Darren becomes the fluttery, flaming homosexual at the local hair salon.

BEDROOMS AND HALLWAYS is peopled with actors who are simple and sincere, yet manage to deliver unusually witty dialogue and to deliver it well. Even in their decadence, these characters truly care about each other, and so they help the audience to care about them. This is really a movie about friends, not about sex.

Like close friendships often do, BEDROOMS AND HALLWAYS takes off slowly. At first the satirical portrayal of the men’s group and its desperate chest-beating exercises are so over-the-top that they grate rather than amuse. However, the movie gradually and quietly settles into a groove, and several of its later scenes are pricelessly funny. By the end of this short movie, you’ve just started to understand its characters. Walking out of BEDROOMS AND HALLWAYS is like leaving a wild party, but for most moral people, this party will prove much too wild.