A romance among gay rugby players seemed like a promising concept, but In From the Side fumbles the play at every turn. As star-crossed lovers go, Mark and Warren make for a rather lacklustre couple. Both are cheating on their long-term partners, and their reluctance to leave their established relationships and choose each other remains frustratingly vague. As affairs go, theirs is frustratingly unremarkable. There's really nothing to lift it above the mundane or add some real dramatic tension. As Mark, Alexander Lincoln is a moderately appealing leading man - sexy and suitably vulnerable and conflicted. Alexander King as Warren is less appealing. He's neither charming nor charismatic enough to compensate for Warren being, to put it mildly, a complete ass. We never really get why Mark is so besotted with him, and by the time Warren fails to stand up for Mark when their affair is exposed at a New Year's Eve Party there's really no redeeming him. When Warren subsequently shows up at a rugby match with his boyfriend - and makes a very public display of affection - it's a mystery why Mark still bothers with him. At which point there's no redeeming Mark either. In short, In From The Side suffers from a weak narrative, a fatal lack of character development, and a more-than-slightly shaky moral compass. And at around two hours and forty minutes, it's a full hour longer than any basic romance has a right to be.
Review of In from the Side
