Set in Ireland during the mid-'90s, 'Dating Amber' follows two teenagers who pretend they're in a relationship so their classmates will stop questioning their sexuality. Both are in their final year - Eddie (Fionn O'Shea) wants to follow his dad (Barry Ward) into the military while Amber (Lola Petticrew) dreams of escaping to London. The two become close friends over the course of their fake relationship. Then Eddie starts to question if it shouldn't be pretend anymore.
The lives of teenagers (particularly Irish teenagers, with their relentless, teasing nature) has perhaps never been more accurately captured than in 'Dating Amber'. Funny and poignant with two great lead performances in O'Shea ('Normal People', 'Handsome Devil') and Petticrew ('A Bump Along the Way'), this is a thoroughly enjoyable dramedy even if its message of staying true to yourself is well-worn.
The film opens with Eddie's very awkward first kiss, after which he immediately gets shtick for not touching the girl's boobs. And not just from the guys - the girl herself and her girlfriends taunt him too. Viewers at home will recognise the friends organising that first shift well, and the cringeworthy sex education classes. Elsewhere in the film, boys randomly call Eddie a wanker and make obscene gestures at him. Yup, welcome to teenagehood.
Other amusing '90s Ireland indications include a cinema date where someone's being jerked off in the back row; even the idealised escape to London (and for one scene, a day trip to Dublin) seems right out of a time vault. It's a great script that hits the nail on the head over and over, for example, when Eddie tells Amber she should act more feminine; she retorts that he should swing his arms more when he walks to look more hetero (very Conor McGregor, so that's ahead of its time). That small insular town life and desperation to get through the hell that is school are captured superbly.
Sharon Horgan ('Catastrophe'), Barry Ward ('Extra Ordinary') and Simone Kirby ('Jimmy's Hall') are great as the parents, though Kirby's character's motives as Amber's single mother seem a bit unclear. Ward is particularly impressive, alternating between comedy - a scene where he goes into the wilderness with Eddie is particularly good fun - and drama with ease. With regards to the latter, there's a sad scene where he talks about how his own father was cold and harsh with him, which is a truth for a whole generation of Irish fathers. Eddie struggles as his father fails to tell him what he needs to hear. The teenage boy struggles to be both a gentleman and "macho man", and is much more uncertain about his homosexuality than Amber is about hers. The subject matter of mental health, and death, in relation to Amber's father, are touched on too.
It's fun to see that Eddie and Amber's relationship gives them a status above all others in the school. Eddie particularly gets applauded by the boys. His and Amber's friendship is really a beautiful thing to witness growing and you find yourself continually intrigued by what this relationship means to Eddie. Is it maternal, friendship, or love? Amber on the other hand is sure footed about who she is and what she wants. As the film progresses you admire her struggle and sense of identity more - her certainty versus his ambiguity, are as commendable as one another. Both are so young and it isn't an easy thing to work out your identity, let alone your sexuality.
There's comedy even in small moments and the supports offer some big laughs. There's Eddie's brazen little brother, the tut tutting class mate, and the worst possible timing to be a vegetarian. The ending is overly sentimental and doesn't totally make sense, but it's touching. Between the laughs, the poignancy, the great acting and on the nose script, 'Dating Amber' is a cracking film. Jaysis, between this and 'Normal People', the Irish are doing great at the moment, aren't we?Dating Amber is the story of Eddie and Amber, both secondary school students who are gay. They decide to fake a relationship to halt the taunts of schoolmates.
It stars Fionn O'Shea as Eddie, recently seen as Marianne's boyfriend Jamie in Normal People, a role which saw him briefly become more hated than Thierry Henry and Bertie combined.
"I'm so used to seeing queer films where you're dying of aids or you're really being persecuted, " said Freyne, who also elaborated on the process of making Dating Amber.
"It's a very bleak view of your future. I just always thought that we deserved to see our experiences framed with heart, warmth and comedy. I really wanted to make that kind of film. I wanted to make the kind of film that I wished I had [seen] growing up; something that has a hopeful message, a hopefully ending and is ultimately about these two kids who end up becoming best friends.
"So we tried to make it a couple of years ago and kind of failed and then after a first feature it was easier, you get a lot of no's particularly when dealing with gay characters and a lot of the no's you get is that its either too funny for a gay film - which you are actually told by financiers - or that we already have a gay film, which I think is a quota which is incredibly enraging.
"I think people are used to a gay film that has to be Oscar-baity with an A-list star playing gay and that's the worthy films that get made, if you want to make something that is a really mainstream, funny gay film. It's very, very tricky because there are just not many of them."
Join The Monday Club Have a tip or something brilliant you wanted to share on? We're looking for loyal readers free-to-join members club where top tipsters can win prizes and merchandiseDATING AMBER is an impressive and genuinely funny Irish film starring Fionn O’Shea and Lola Petticrew. – as seen at NewFest 2020
“This place will kill you, ” says Amber (Lola Petticrew) to Eddie (Fionn O’Shea) as they look over the green empty countryside and their small village in 1995 Ireland. The two are seniors in the local high school that is amusingly full of hormonal teenagers who are literally air-humping in the schoolyard and bragging about their sexual exploits. But Amber, a confident young woman, already knows she is a lesbian, although closeted thanks to their small town’s love of gossip. What she cannot bear is the teasing and bullying from classmates who are beginning to suspect. So she comes up with a proposal to the nervous and slight Eddie – pretend to date each other to get their classmates off their backs.
Amber has already sized up Eddie and guesses correctly that he’s gay. But Eddie is happy in his closet and unwilling to even say the word “gay” much less admit his identity to himself. Still, he likes Amber’s idea and goes along with being her boyfriend.
DATING AMBER, another gem from Irish Screen, is head and shoulders above what you might expect to be a straightforward teen comedy about two friends serving as each other’s beard. It’s touching, superbly written and acted. Wide-eyed O’Shea (like an Irish Timothee Chalamet) was recently nominated with a “European Shooting Star” for his note-perfect performance here. Not only does the film enjoy a wicked comic streak replete with nuns in every corner – watch for the cringiest sex ed video ever – but O’Shea’s struggle to come out buckles under pressure from a father (Barry Ward) who wants him to join the military and a sensitive if harried mother (the always wonderful Sharon Horgan).
But it’s Lola Petticrew who steals the show. Reminiscent of a young Julie Walters, Petticrew’s Amber is brash, confident and ambitious. She has plans to graduate high school, escape their dreary hometown to go to London and open an anarchist bookstore. Writer/director David Freyne (THE CURED) has painted a very full picture of laughter and tears, teenage angst, small-town vibes and a coming-of-age story without resorting to anything you’ve seen before. Must stream!
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