a short film by Harry Richards 2002 | 11 mins | UK ›› Same Difference twin brothers comes to realise that they are not so alike. This short film packs a lot of emotions into its all too limited time frame, as twin brothers comes to realise that they are not so alike after all. Not that this is apparent to cutie Leon at first, given he and his identical twin Noel, both keen rugby players, are seemingly joined at the hip, forever lusting after the same things in life. Only not when it comes to local girl Abi; a sports photographer who Leon has the hots for, only for her to have a crush on his more sensitive brother. Question is, who does Noel prefer? With a cast list that includes Nigel (Two Minutes After Midnight) Shipp as boyfriend Dominic, the answer is all but obvious. Yet in what is in essence a coming out tale, writer and director Harry Richards mixes his cinematic cocktail with a teenage take on the classic love triangle scenario, along the way adding an undercurrent of homophobia. Thankfully Jonathon, here as Romeo Natynczyk, as previously seen in the groundbreaking Channel 4 series Queer as Folk plays both roles with glee, aided by convincing trick photography and character names that are but backward anagrams of each other. That Richards’ has his heart in the right place is not in doubt, given his heartfelt message of sexual acceptance, even if he ends his work all too abruptly, leaving a series of unresolved issues in its wake, not least of which is whether brothers as close as this, could not be aware of differing sexual preferences within the ranks, given it is all but obvious from the onset that Noel is gay? A sure case of a short film being well, just too short. Need more be said? Gay Visibility - overt.  Nudity - none.  Overall - file under ... 3 stars.  screened as part of the 17th London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival 2003. starring: Jonathon - Romeo Natynczyk / Leon - Noel, Bianca Bonomi / Abi, Nigel Shipp / Dominic and Chris Piper as Ed. Copyright 2011 David Hall - www.gaycelluloid.com. archive reference #358 ›› previous page | back to top | print me ‹‹