Clapham Junction

During the 12 months to January 2006, apparently the Metropolitan Police dealt with 1,359 incidents of homophobic hate crime, a rise of 120 since the last available statistics, this fact coupled with the tragic homophobic murder of 24-year-old Jody Dobrowski on Clapham Common in 2005, was the obvious inspiration for Channel four's drama Clapham Junction (2007), Writer Kevin Elyot paints a rather bleak of gay life in London, with a whole set of generally unlikable gay (and straight) characters who car crash together during the murder of an innocent young gay waiter in Clapham common.

I am sure that Elyot does not want to act in any way, as a PR agent for gay communities, and wants to show the "reality" of the problem how he sees it, but the whole film is beset with a somewhat unrelenting misery and sadness which does not feel quite right, well at least not to me.

We have negative stereotypes of the non monogamous "married" gay professional, closet gay psychopath,closet gay married guy, and most damaging ( and unconvincing of all) a gay pedophile (Joseph Mawle pic) who is seduced by a fourteen year old boy; but to be fair I suppose, the straight characters were just as bad and cardboard in their characterisations (overbearing mother who equates paedophilia with being gay, embittered wife of the closeted hubby).

Now I know like most stereotypes, they actually DO exist, and perhaps are more recognisable to the gay scenes in Kevin Elyot's life, but I found the whole story so uneven, I just didn't believe in most of the protagonists . The audience has to believe in the characters , whether it is a positive or negative way in order to engage with the messages within the narrative, and that didn't happen, which is sad as this film could have been a whole lot better.

Having said that, I think some points were made well, ie smashing the idea that teenage boys cannot be predatory in gay issues and Rupert Graves' portrayal of a middle aged single gay man who is content with his singleton existence but who faces homophobic idiocy during an "educated" dinner party, was particulary strong.
But the main thrust of the drama was the idea that attitudes and behaviour towards gay men have not significently changed for the better as Elyot indeed states :-

“While there seems to be a greater acceptance of gays in society…homophobic violence has not disappeared. Bigotry is still bubbling just below the surface and sometimes in the most surprising quarters.”

Perhaps I am lucky....I don't often see this bigotry in my everyday life and perhaps it is important to be reminded that to some, it is always there and is all very real.