I didn't know this movie was based on a book until the end. I've watched it now several times and each time it makes me tear up at the end, at the injustice of an illness that robbed us of so many young people, at the love that two people shared, at the sublime portrayal of a romance between two men that happened to be gay. Obviously, the script is magnificent and the dialogue is paced just right. However, what I believe elevates this movie to the rank of excellent is the acting. I got to the point where I forgot I was watching a movie and I felt like I was watching the life story of two friends being played in front of my eyes. There aren't very many LGBT films that grab at my heartstrings and pull with enough emotion to make me remember the next day but this movie is certainly one of them. Definitely worth watching!

I actually watched this film about 2 months ago, but I still remember it vividly. Reading the book in a week after watching the movie also ensured that my life for the next month was going to be a roller-coaster of emotions. This movie will make you cry, a lot!The thing I adore about Holding the man is how Corr and Stott played their characters so well and fittingly to the real Tim and John in the book- it makes the film as a whole so much more engaging and heart-breaking. The movie's actual love story context is SO much more than just a love story. From protesting homophobia to harrowing encounters with disease and how it can effect a relationship, Holding The Man features so much that by the end of the movie, you will feel like you've gone through something... beautifully tragic. I honestly felt depressed for a solid 2 weeks after watching this film. This is perhaps a reason why I should give this movie a 9 star rating instead of 10, but I just can't! Months on from watching the film, John and Tim do still occasionally crop into my mind; but not in a sad, melancholy way, but in a peaceful way. The film made me care for these men I've never met. Something no other film apart from Brokeback Mountain made me do.I recommend this movie so highly if you love an epic love story that actually is so much more than that. It's beautiful and happy and exciting and sad and horrible all in one! I love it so much.

I was given the book by a friend from Australia in about '97,I have read it countless times through the years.I never thought anyone would be able to bring the story to the screen, as Tim had written a remarkable story.Finally seeing the movie, I can only say that it does indeed do the book justice. No movie can wholly compete with a brilliant and beautifully crafted book, the best it can hope to do is convey the story and the spirit of the book - this movie does just that. I fell in love with John and Tim all over again, 19 years later. The love they shared, the pain they endured both John's physical and Tim's emotional came back to me as emotionally as it had in the book. (I wept through the end of the book) Was my emotional response a reaction to the movie on it's own, or in part to the memory of the book? I do not know. I do know that Craig Stott's portrayal of John was, for me, spot on, as was Ryan Corr's portrayal of Tim. The story, the spirit and the essence of these two beautiful men is definitely captured and resonate through this film.

Strong Powerful and Poignant. Full of authenticity and honesty. Finally a gay movie without the white wash or straight-wash narrative. Thank You... Based on a memoir by activist Timothy Conigrave, it's the tale of a 70s schoolboy romance that blossoms into a relationship and is torn apart by the advent of HIV in the 80s. There's genuine chemistry between the two leads – as well as sharp turns from a wonderful cast including Guy Pearce, Antony LaPaglia and Kerry Fox – and an unabashedly mainstream sensibility, transforming an intimate story into a grand romance. The director Neil Armfield created a perfectly played gay romance. I hope to see this nominated at next years Oscars