Consenting Adults
Country: UK, Language: English, 75 mins
- Director: Richard Curson Smith
- Writer: Julian Mitchell
- Producer: Colin Cameron; Robert Dawson Scott
CGiii Comment
Watch this in conjunction with A Very British Sex Scandal - you will get a feel for gay Britain in the 50s and 60s.
A thoroughly witty script by Mitchell, some mellow jazz and, fine performances - the irony, of course, is that Wolfenden's son was gay - would it all be different if he wasn't?
Good television.
Trailer...
The(ir) Blurb...
This is a film based on the life of the Wolfenden family and some characters in the city of Reading, England. Wolfenden whose son, Jeremy, professes to being Queer, is asked to chair a Home Office committee to look at the laws on Prostitution and Homosexuality. The story follows at least three story arcs. ONE: Wolfenden starting up the committee and dealing with the people who are interviewed, then coming to a decision about the laws surrounding prostitution and homosexuality. TWO: Jeremy Wolfenden's life as a young homosexual man in 1950s Britain. His arrival and success at Oxford, his stresses as a 'queer' man and the debates between him and his Father. THREE: Labourer, Charlie Bullard's relationship with '23 men' and particularly with Parker the baker with whom he becomes obsessed. Bullard is arrested and charged with 'offenses' and sees his former partners sentenced to 'an average of 3 and a half years in gaol'. The intertwining stories tell the story of the what it was like to be homosexual in 1950s England.
Cast & Characters
David Bamber as Dr. Carl Winter;
Sean Biggerstaff as Jeremy Wolfenden;
Samantha Bond as Jill Wolfenden;
Dallas Campbell as Sergeant Harry;
Giles Cooper as Philip French;
Charles Dance as John Wolfenden;
Mark Gatiss as PC Butcher;
Haydn Gwynne as Mrs. Cohen;
Paul Kendrick as Clive; Katie Males;
Jamie Martin as Colin Parker;
Charles Reston as Michael;
Matt Ryan as Charley Bullard;
Mel Smith as Maxwell Fyfe;
Tim Wallers as Spellman