No... it wasn't that -- their appearance (wedge haircuts, sportswear etc.) which was evolving into one that was much different than the earlier Yobbo/skinhead/hooligan style of dress, was a very new thing back around that time (and mainly isolated to the Merseyside area). It was sort of a stealth/surprise factor -- they looked kind of girly, ergo they must not be tough. They would slip past the coppers because they looked unassuming.
While there are some homerotic overtures to the relationship, there is nothing to indicate that Elvis was gay -- just very much alone and out of place in most ways amongst the rest of the Pack, and yearning for friendship and a way out of the council housing way of life.
Don't bother with the script, just read the novel instead -- it is far, far better than the film and is a much more cohesive story. The film was, on several levels a disappointment, and is rather disjointed, particularly for those who haven't read the book first. I can't blame Sampson -- the screenplay had to be pared down from the text to make it into a movie, while at the same time keeping it interesting. There were some surprising changes though. And Paul (Carty) is a far less likable character in the film version. He translated into a very different personality onscreen.
Seriously, read the book. It's a classic.
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mrchapulino
14 years ago
it seemed that way throughout the whole film.there was a part i beleive where carty goes to elvis's place right after he has it with that girl and carty tells him what he did with her and you can see kind of a dissapointment from elvis's face. maybe its just me but its hard to indicate if he really was but there is alot of undertones to beleive elvis was gay.
Seeing the film with out having read the book made me want to read the book even more.i was really into the movie and wanted more of it in the end. i wanted to read the script because i couldnt really understand the film and would have to watch it more than once to try and make it out. i really liked this movie by the way. Thanks for the reply.
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crossword_fiend
12 years ago
Personally I thought it was made clear that Elvis was gay (maybe it was a very bad translation of the book, which I haven't read). All that "he always loved you stuff", surely that was confirmation of what was obvious throughout? It's not even subtext; there's too much evidence to list. Saying that, I've listened to Mark Kermode's review, and while he said he thought it was a love story between the two leads (and I wouldn't go that far), he also said that when he put that to other people they thought it was unfounded.
I had to watch the DVD rather than the version I found online because I needed subtitles to catch half of the dialogue.
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ve-ictor
11 years ago
The pink shirt and weird clothes don't lie. Kidding. But for me, they made it very clear that he was in love with Carty. The way he looks at him, the way he decides to get to know him and definitely the way he manipulates Carty to hang out with him and follow him on the things that he does. Which indicates that he had some secret life and wanted to run away (Berlin). When he said to the girl that Carty was interested that he was gay (when the girl goes to sleep with Carty, she says that something's been said about his sexuality and he says that's all lies). When the girl they find on the bus was going to kiss Elvis and he leans over, she whispers "poof". It couldn't be gayer ("My little angel", "He loves you", ...), like it was said, it's not even a subtext, it's pretty much there. By the way, this movie was written by the novel's author, so maybe Elvis was always gay in his mind.
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