Twenty-something farmer’s son Johnny (Josh O’Connor) is the centre of the film, which opens bright and early one morning in the Yorkshire countryside. Expect Johnny is feeling far from bright; dawn is fast approaching and he’s retching into a toilet as opposed to being out at work on the field. It soon becomes clear that his sickness is self-inflicted, having been heavily ‘on the sauce’ the night before. The reasons for his heavy drinking, which occurs which apparent regularity, soon become equally clear and wholly understandable. His daily life is little more than a daily existence, as stark as the area in which he resides. Since his father’s stroke he has become solely responsible for running and maintaining the farm – he rises early, works, works, works, drinks, sleeps. Repeat ad nauseum. The only connections he has in his life are with his ailing father, frowning grandmother and brief sexual encounters. It feels important to reiterate that this isn’t coming out movie. It doesn’t focus on issues of acceptance of sexuality, from selves or from others. Nor is it a love against the odds, a presumption which may be caused by the ongoing comparisons being drawn to Brokeback Mountain (2005). The primary link between the two films is the harsh landscapes, the ruralness and the replacements of cowboys for farmers. That’s pretty much where the similarities end. Yes, God’s Own Country does have some pained expressions but those aren’t due to fear of discovery – they’re due to fears of self. Johnny is a young man who is not happy and has not been happy for a long time. His social interactions are minimal, the pressure from his family is overwhelming and all feels bleak. At first rejecting any engagement with Gheorghe, both out of fear and the self-fulfilling toil of loneliness, the initially tentative tenderness builds. The smallest gestures begin to bring Johnny out of himself, one small step at a time. It’s moving and profound to watch – only possible thanks to two truly extraordinary performances by the central leads as you find your heart slightly shattered and wonderfully warmed in equal measure. God’s Own Country is in UK cinemas now.