Man in an Orange Shirt

For most of its two hours, “Man in an Orange Shirt,” directed by Michael Samuels, neatly knits the cinematic and sweeping with the subtle and specific into a kind of naturalistic melodrama. It will fill you with feelings, if you let it.

A powerful Masterpiece movie that bridges generations with its tale of repressed and forbidden affections. [11 - 24 Jun 2018, p.13]

I was afraid the message of “Man in an Orange Shirt” would be simplistic--being gay was hard then, but it’s easy now, look how far we’ve come, etc. But the film, strewn with symbols that carry from one story to the other, has other things in mind, and they make it distinctly moving.

Written by novelist Patrick Gale, “Man in an Orange Shirt,” airing timed to national Pride Month, tells stories both familiar and heartfelt (the consequences of repression; not being true to yourself) but also occasionally surprising (“open relationships” come into play in the second, contemporary-set hour).

Man in an Orange Shirt aspires to be a both a romantic tearjerker and a heartfelt family drama. It doesn’t quite succeed on either point, but it has merit nonetheless.

The film moves on two generations to another era, our own--and regrettably, for the most part, except for the luminous presence of Vanessa Redgrave, extraordinary as Flora, now grown old. ... [Her grandson's] a regular user of dating apps, but he’s just not a happy guy--which is, of course, the point of this final section, awash in sermonizing on the necessity of finding true love.