Departures
Neil Ely and Lloyd Eyre-Morgan’s gay break-up comedy-drama set largely in Amsterdam is an impactful and insightful thing.
Image courtesy of Peccadillo Pictures.
by MANSEL STIMPSON
Here's a film that makes you sit up in your seat – and what’s more it does that even before the first photographic image appears. It achieves this by starting with an indecorous written declaration from the producers: “This film is inspired by all the dickheads that fucked us over.” With this the tone of Departures has been set and it quickly becomes apparent why early screenings of it have led to comparisons being made with Danny Boyle's classic Trainspotting (1996). This is a film empowered by youthful energy, a spirited work eager to break the rules and possessed of a voice that is all its own. As it happens, this is a gay movie made by Neil Ely and Lloyd Eyre-Morgan and written by the latter who in addition stars in it. Consequently, it should receive a huge welcome from gay audiences but the characteristics which it shares with Trainspotting could well mean that many viewers who are not gay will find that they too are swept away by it.
Departures is a film which finds it central character, Benji (that’s Eyre-Morgan’s role), looking back on a relationship that has failed and which was in truth difficult from the start. Benji acts as the narrator of his own story and we soon learn that his working-class mother (Lorraine Stanley) is accepting of his sexuality even though she would have liked to have had a grandson. Her wish is that her son could be a happy gay, but it soon emerges that Benji tends to make bad choices when it comes to sexual partners. His attraction to Jake (David Tag) illustrates this all too well. They first meet at an airport when waiting for a plane to Amsterdam and on arrival they hit it off in bed despite the fact that, in contrast to Benji, Jake is in denial about his sexuality. Indeed, the encounter goes well enough for Jake to suggest monthly meetings, always in Amsterdam. Jake's life and his other involvements remain unknown to Benji and the most that he can get out of Jake is that when it comes to sex he claims to favour women over men by a ratio of seventy to thirty. But, while Jake is ready to help Benji to afford the cost involved in his proposal, there is another key difference: Benji accepts the situation because he is emotionally caught up in this relationship whereas Jake shows no signs of wanting it to go deeper.
Ely and Eyre-Morgan have been working together for some twelve years mainly on short films and music videos but, while not their first feature together, Departures is the work which gives clear evidence of what they can achieve. It stands as a true original and is notable for the way in which it blends not only the comic with the serious but also imaginative stylisation with a sense of a deep reality under the surface (whether or not the material should to some extent be regarded as autobiographical, the directors do acknowledge that the film was born from lived experience). If the energy and pace are apparent from the start, so too is the decision to shoot in a way that goes beyond naturalism. In addition to Benji commenting directly in voice-over on what we are seeing, shots of the actors are often shown with written comments imposed over them or even in romantic moments with a flutter of hearts across the screen. There are occasional snatches of classical music on the soundtrack that are deliberately self-conscious and the filmmaking involved is often acknowledged. Such instances include the use of montage sequences (one such being described by Benji as ‘my big book of exes’) and in using split screen images from time to time.
The fact that the film is viewing a relationship that has ended means that Departures can also show how eighteen months on Benji is still floundering in keeping himself together and hoping that other sexual experiences will compensate. It is all too clear that he remains besotted with Jake and is finding it difficult to regard the break-up as final. Exploring this situation with authenticity enables Departures to pull off a very difficult feat: its approach makes it a lively piece in which the humorous and often outspoken dialogue entertains while in addition its emotional truth ensures that it also functions on a deeper level regardless of its stylised elements.
This is, of course, a tricky balance and some of the film’s later scenes are less successful. In particular an episode about the way in which Jake as a youngster was virtually subjected to losing his virginity plays like a scene from a farce that is too artificial to convince on both levels. For that matter the more substantial footage which establishes the side of Jake's life which he has hidden from Benji is closer to standard drama and tends to lack the novelty of approach which initially marks out the film. Also, more straightforward in style but very well realised are scenes in which Benji establishes a friendship that remains platonic yet is helpful - this being with Kieran (Liam Boyle). But, even if there is some unevenness at times, Departures is original and clever enough to stand out.
The casting throughout is well judged with the two leads both outstandingly good. David Tag as Jake captures admirably the nature of someone who believes that strong masculinity is the image that society expects of men and thus seeks to hide anything in himself that might contradict that. As for Lloyd Eyre-Morgan, his triumph is not only to realise so fully the character of Benji but to give us a hero who to our pleasure will win through despite the fact that he is in one key aspect an unconventional hero for a gay movie. Despite Departures being possessed of such energy and youthful appeal, its creators are in their thirties and Eyre-Morgan is not ill-suited to playing a character who, shy to shed his clothes, is aware that he is not somebody with a gym body. So often a gay lead is chosen for his outstanding looks and that is not what we have here. Instead, Eyre-Morgan’s portrayal gives us an appealing character who attracts all the more for being less than a super glamorous star presence and more akin to the viewer who can immediately identify with him directly. In point of fact, that we can do that and can sympathise with him in his relationship problems so readily is a key factor that could help this film to find responsive non-gay viewers. And on top of that there's the sheer appeal of the film’s surface itself which creates an impact sufficient on its own to make this a film to see.
Cast: Lloyd Eyre-Morgan, David Tag, Liam Boyle, Lorraine Stanley, Tyler Conti, Jacob Partali, Olly Rhodes, Kerry Howard, Jake Haynes, Kimberly Hart-Simpson, Ali Afzal, Anthony Crank.
Dir Neil Ely and Lloyd Eyre-Morgan, Pro Neil Ely, Lloyd Eyre-Morgan and Paul Mortlock, Screenplay Lloyd Eyre-Morgan, Ph Paul Mortlock, Pro Des Katie Wrigley and Clare de Lune, Ed Lloyd Eyre-Morgan, Music Stephanie Singer and Ali Ingle, Sound Joe Nattrass.
Punk Spirit Films-Peccadillo Pictures.
83 mins. UK. 2025. UK Rel: 17 April 2026. US Rel: 29 April 2026. Cert. 18.