Note: this review has some very light and general spoilers that probably won't be much news to those who know enough about the story to be reading about it here.

An extremely well intended adaptation of Timothy Conigave's memoir of the great love of life set in Australia in the 70s, 80s, and early 90s. The film did make me cry. And it was nice to see a gay love story where both the deep romance and intense sexuality of these two men were treated as utterly normal by the film -- if not by the society the two men were living in at the time. I also appreciate the way it pulled no punches on showing the devastating physical effects of AIDS in the days where treatment options were pathetically limited and ineffective. So there is much going for it.

But, frustratingly, some of that good stuff is off-set with cinematic miss-steps, at least to my eyes: E.g. Casting Aussie stars Guy Pearce, Kerry Fox, and Geoffrey Rush in cameos so small that their presence seems more weird and distracting than involving (Anthony LaPaglia also takes a small role, but one with enough meat that at least his presence seems to make sense).

Overuse of period songs: To a point this device worked well, but soon it started to feel like every other scene had a familiar period pop song as score – most a little too on-the-nose in their lyrics or meaning. This is a particular flaw at the very end of the film, when the crashing in of an up-tempo pop song short-circuits a moment of great emotional intensity I would have liked to have been able to sit with and emotionally experience.

And while it's great that a gay love story can now feel little different than a straight one in style, that's maybe not great when that style sometimes feels as familiar and mainstream as any slightly bland Hollywood movie. Add to that, some of the worst age make up I can remember seeing in a long time (trying desperately to make two very adult looking actors come off as teenagers at the start of the story),and a tendency to skip too quickly over the character elements of these two men that weren't directly about their relationship -- so that even after over 2 hours I felt frustrated that I didn't know more about these two as individuals -- which would have given added shape to the story of how their lives joined into one.

A worthwhile and admirable film, but one that I couldn't quite get myself to love, no matter how much I wanted to.

Based on a true story; this is a touching and moving story of a couple of young Australian men who fall in love as youngsters in the days before there was any AIDS awareness. Ryan Corr ("Tim") and Craig Matthew Scott ("Tom") are superb as they act out their joyous loving relationship (complete with it's obligatory ups and downs) and then have to face the fact that, 15 years later, one has become terminally ill. We share the traumatic journey, poignantly told as they both try to reconcile themselves to the inevitable. Guy Pearce and Geoffrey Rush star too and Anthony LaPaglia and Camilla Ah Kin play "John"'s parents sensitively - their grief compounded by their perception of the blame lying on his "choices". It is raw and at times horrible to watch - the decline is pretty full-on but none the less watchable and engrossing for that. It's seems odd now that this was an unstoppable disease, but for many of us who were young in the 1970s and 1980s this was just how it happened. The lack of legal status of the partner in the whole process is sickening but thankfully, for many, long changed for the better.

I wouldn't call this the best gay biography movie I've ever seen because when the scene where Tim takes a break from John, he was seen having sex with other guys and I'm thinking to myself 'Is he gonna just move on from John or is he cheating on him too?'. I honestly wonder if the real Tim really did jump the gun with other guys? That I don't know....

Even if I thought the movie was a little confusing, it does give you a feeling of what AIDS involves and how it effects loved ones.Maybe if it was one hour and fifty minutes then 2 hours, the movie would be a lot easier in understanding to follow. It was heartbreaking that John unfortunately died from the disease and seeing the rest of the family including Tim, was very devastating.It does show you that AIDS is a very deadly disease and for those who have it, must go to a doctor immediately.