The Pass

This poignant drama stars Russell Tovey as Jason, a football player on the verge of stardom who's desperate to keep his sexuality a secret. At three junctures in his career, we share encounters that threaten to destroy his carefully manicured public image and expose his unhappiness. The film becomes an intricate peek into the macho world of sport, particularly football, historically a sport with difficulties surrounding LGBT issues. Director Ben A Williams, in his feature debut, rightly builds the film around Tovey's performance, which takes the entire story up a level. Manipulative, arrogant, yet thoroughly insecure and afraid, he forges Jason's path from cocky youngster to bitter celebrity with confidence and passion. Arinze Kene is impressively measured as his teammate and would-be lover, but in the end this is Tovey's show, helped by some smart dialogue that allows the story to be told in between the lines. Thoughtfully written and terrifically acted, The Pass is an insightful and brutally honest look at the price of "making it".