Some Thoughts From an American (uh-oh...)
I have to admit - I saw this last night in New York, and I didn't much like it.
However - after reading through a few comments, my dislike might be from a number of things: I'm not that knowledgeable about Davies' other films (I have heard of them, but I haven't seen them); while I've been to Liverpool (god, 25 years ago now) and I know generally how England has changed in recent years, I don't have a deep knowledge or emotional attachment to the city and images. Also, the description I read of the movie described it as a documentary about Liverpool worked around Davies' childhood; it's not really that, and it's even something beyond the story of how a young gay Catholic man became an adult during a time and place when the Church was paramount in its members' lives and homosexuality was considered a legal and moral offense. I wasn't, however, really able to tap into that "something beyond" during my viewing.
This also may be a movie "too" British for others without the background to fully appreciate. You'd have to know about the shipyards, and the bombing during the war, and how Liverpool's heart has always been very working-class to understand a good part of it. As it is, I don't know anything about Liverpool's link to the Korean War and Vietnam, something I'll have to go remedy.
I did enjoy what I saw him trying to do with the structure - that was very admirable. But it may be a matter of me not being up on the background to fully appreciate what was before me.
So while I didn't much like it this time around, I'm fully willing to watch some more Davies, let that settle in, and give it another chance. Unfortunately, it's not going to be fore the movie closes in New York City - that's in four days. %^<