The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

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

this movie really is a lot to do with life if Christ said he didn't come to condemn the world but to offer us new life this a beautiful romantic story about to young people who have come to there point in life to make a choice of being who they are and the beginning of being adults if I had, had this opportunity to make this choice at 18 to meet and fall in love with a man without preconceived ideas of sexually and other things I would been a real happy person instead of men or Christian men and women telling me what to do and how to do it we have only one being we have to answer to that the trinity of god which is god + Jesus+ the holy spirit and read the bible and pray for every human being is infallible and our thoughts change every time the lights go on know matter what you believe in?

I liked the twofold symbolism of the waves: of baptismal cleansing and as a reminder that 'Time's ever rolling stream bears all its sons away.' While some might think this film is ponderously slow, I reckon it's very meditative. When you're that young, time moves very slowly – remember the long school and university vacations? Teenage angst exists the world over, including struggling with one's sexuality and an evangelical young man like Brady will be able to quote chapter and verse from the bible to condemn himself. That's where the pastor was weak. His quotation of two, vaguely relevant bible verses would not have been sufficient to convince him.And who is this pastor, anyway? His church has cross and candles and the Stations of the Cross, which suggest a Roman Catholic building; not the sort of church Brady and his mother would attend as evangelicals (though their home has the tackiest reproduction of Da Vinci's Last Super that I have ever seen).The place, Rock Haven, far from being a place of escape became a means of finding oneself, somewhat like a pilgrimage destination where you have to travel in order to arrive back at where you started.Despite these minor niggles, this is a beautifully-produced film dealing with issues that are still live for many young people despite its being the Twenty-first century.

This is a good movie for the conservative religious to see, in hopes that it might show them the harm their narrow-minded views have, and how unchristian they are, but it's only mediocre at that.The best part of it is that you really feel the love Clifford feels for Brady, and you really do see how conflicted Brady is over his feelings. Having grown up in rural America, though fortunately not in such a strongly religious household, the fear and denial are *very* real, and the two actors did a good job in their roles.I also commend the movie for not artificially contriving to hide body parts. When the clothes come off, they come off just like they would for real, so what if you can see what you know is there? Lastly, though like all the messages this was relatively understated, they did hint at the fact that Brady was basically going through "coming out" as religious, though it would have been pretty obvious. Denial goes both ways, and it's a good thing for those of us non-religious sorts to be reminded to treat those we disagree with with the same respect we expect and deserve.The main problems with the movie are:1. It's too painful to watch the train wreck for someone who cares about the couple, and I don't think the message is strong enough to hit home the people who need it.2. The long drawn out "time passing" scenes feel like they're there to make the movie full length without having to write real dialog. The short snippets that comprise scenes are marginal enough that this is probably a good thing.It wants to be "Latter Days" for mainstream Christians, but falls fairly short, unfortunately.

I was really enjoying this movie because I, well, grew up Catholic, 'nough said? Anyways, the story was true to life except for the horrible acting of the minister and the bigger disappointment was when the "christian" boy let true love just go away.....because of his love for God???? It shows how we are all brainwashed as children and why it makes coming out and accepting ones self so hard. Why couldn't he of had both???? I WOULD NEVER HAVE LET SUCH LOVE GET AWAY....TRUE LOVE AND FRIENDSHIP AND HE JUST LETS HIM GO............UNBELIEVABLE!!!! I really enjoyed this film until the end so I gave it a 4. If he would have accepted himself and his love for another guy, I would have given it a 9 because of how true most of what he went through was (is). It just makes me so mad that he was so very brainwashed as not to accept his very deep love for both God and another man. No wonder there are so many young gays that turn to drugs and alcohol or commit suicide.