Better Late Then Never

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.

A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

Talking to a family friend about the excellent Nordic Noir film Black's Game,he told me about a gay Nordic Drama that he had recently seen.With having only seen the Noir offerings from recent Nordic cinema,I started to get the "jitters" to explore other genres.The plot:Going on a school trip to the UK city of Manchester for 3 weeks,Icelandic 16 year old Gabriel is pared up with fellow Icelandic Markus. Sharing a room together,Gabriel begins to develop a strong bond with Markus on their nights out drinking,and starts to fall in love with him.Returning home to Iceland,Gabriel finds his friends to constantly push for him to go out with girls.Nervous about the response he would get,Gabriel decides to keep his feelings for Markus hidden from his friends.As Gabriel tries to make sense of his feelings,his best friend Stella finds herself struggling with the restrictions that her grandmother is putting on her feelings.View on the film:Backed by a warm acoustic indie soundtrack,co-writer/(along with Ingibjörg Reynisdóttir)director Baldvin Zophoníasson & cinematographer Jóhann Máni Jóhannsson give the movie a rustic,almost documentary appearance,as Zophoníasson's long takes capture the intimacy and friendship between Gabriel and his friends with a real delicacy. Giving the paperback cover of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo a cheeky cameo, Zophoníasson subtly brings darkness into Gabriel & Stella's friendship,as the light,breezy brightness of the first half dims into dark blues and blacks,as Stella starts to reach a breaking point with her grandmother.For the screenplay of the film, Zophoníasson & Reynisdóttir use the opening to give the relationship between Gabriel & Markus a firm foundation,thanks to the casual nature of the dialogue expressing the love and tenderness that Gabriel feels for Marcus. Surrounding Gabriel with a group of pals,the writers brilliantly make the criss- crossing plots feel like they are building the overall friendship of the gang,as Stella's tragic issues with her ground mother are entwined with Markus having a desire to know about what Gabriel's feelings are for him.Given the most tragic notes of the friends,Iva Holmes gives a raw,heartfelt performance as Stella,with Holmes brilliantly balancing Stella's relaxed,friendly personality with a brittle darkness that becomes to much to bare.Lighting up the screen with his dazzling eyes, Atli Oskar Fjalarsson gives a fantastic performance as Gabriel,thanks to Fjalarsson giving an adorable awkwardness,as he starts to get the jitters for Markus.

As for the previous writer's review I won't comment...I thought this was a very well done coming of age drama. These kids are no different than kids in the US in that age group. Some people do drink a lot as well as do drugs during those years. It doesn't mean they aren't going to eventually find themselves and turn into who they will become in years to come.I thought the acting of each of these young people was very good and Gabriel's character would certainly touch home with many in any part of the world who are trying to figure it all out...I would highly suggest this movie to young people coming of age who are having problems with their sexuality. The movie is for the most part non-sexual in nature and what exist of the gay portion is very well done.

Jitters is okay; I didn't hate it, but I can't say I like it; it's just too unbelievable to react to in much of any way at all.Atli Oskar Fjalarsson is very cute, and although it's completely unbelievable that every girl he knows has the hots for him, I'd believe it in an instant if they were boys (but they're not).In any other movie, a boy like him - a sweet, gentle, graceful, sympathetic, six-foot, 90-pound sylph-like pretty boy with flawless skin - would constantly be having to prove he's not gay, and constantly be bullied by gangs of straight boys and ridiculed by gangs of straight girls; but evidently it's not like that in Iceland. Everybody in this movie, of every age, male and female, seems to see Matthew McConaughey in him instead of Audrey Hepburn. It's a great mystery.Unfortunately, Atli Oscar's cuteness is about all this silly movie has going for it. I never believed in anybody, so I never cared what happened to anybody. What's obviously supposed to be the great tragedy is simply ludicrous, but no more ludicrous than anything else that happens.This is my first Icelandic movie, so it may be a cultural thing; although I have loved and related deeply to movies from all the other Scandinavian countries, Iceland is very different, and very much smaller. But it's a little hard to believe - even as isolated as that country is and always has been - that teenagers and even adults are as naive, as clueless, as simpleminded, almost, as they are in this movie.I'm pretty sure Iceland is a modern, advanced country, but these people seem more out of touch than the Amish. Maybe it's true that Icelanders are extraordinarily simple, naive, backward people; if so, I can understand why the world isn't swarming with Icelandic movies. But for now I'm going to assume that Iceland is a great country and Icelanders are smart, interesting people and that this is just a dumb movie.

Jitters is a coming of age drama set in Iceland. This film is like watching a group of teenagers through a secret camera and following the happenings in their life. The incidents can be positive, tense, romantic, eye openers or whatever but it does provide a fun , positive look at today's youngsters focussing specifically on Iceland. This is a group of trouble proned friends lead by Gabriel. On a 3 week English Immersion trip to Manchester, he shares a room with Marcus who is free spirited. He brings some character in life of Marcus and on their last day, they share a kiss. It is a short lived romance as it ends when they both come back home. They do keep sharing text messages though. Friends and family notice a change but he decides to keep a secret. We also get to know the lives of all of his friends. His best friend is having troubles with his girlfriend. He wants to score with her but she is not so easy to budge. We also have Greta, who just cant live with her mother anymore and decided to find a place for rent. She is also in search of her father and finally fins the man who could possibly be her father. She just wants to finish this so that she can move on. We also have Stella who likes Gabriel and who lives with her over protective grandmother who doesn't allow to let Stella live the life she wants to. She is always interfering. In between the lives of all of these friends, Gabriel is trying to find his own identity. When he and Marcus meet again, sparks are there but no one does anything. Gabriel is upset when he sees Marcus getting physical with a girl which ends up in a fight. When his friends interfere, Marcus tells them that Gabriel is gay. The friends are finally accepting and now it is time for Gabriel to move on and decide what he wants to do with Marcus. The excitement and traumas of a group of Icelandic teenagers as they tentatively enter young adulthood, is very effectively and brilliantly captured in this film. The entire ensemble cast is very good and very very well acted by the whole group of teenagers. I personally feel that if the focus could have been given more on Gabriel's relationship rather than focussing so much in details on the 2 girls, it would have been clear on what exact;y is going on in his head because he is always so quiet. But I guess in the process the film could also have missed out on a big chunk of audience. Overall, a pretty good job. I would have loved it even more if it was somewhat focused rather than all over the group of friends but that's just me.The film although showing young teenage drama still is insightful and remains true in showing emotions.