---
title: "God's Own Country"
year: 2017
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/gods-own-country"
fi1m_score: 84
critics_score: 83
critics_reviews: 25
published: "2026-09-17T08:47:27.608275+00:00"
updated: "2026-09-17T08:47:38.171471+00:00"
region: "US"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# God's Own Country (2017)

Directed by Francis Lee · 1h 44m · MPA R · Romance, Drama

**Fi1m score: 84** · Critics 83 from 25 reviews

*In a sentence:* There is romance in competent farm work, though we would still prefer flowers

> Francis Lee’s Yorkshire farm romance is frank, tender and worth the patience, with Josh O’Connor and Alec Secăreanu making its physical intimacy convincing. Gheorghe is less fully drawn than Johnny, but we believed in the two of them.

## Synopsis

Johnny Saxby (Josh O’Connor) works on a remote Yorkshire sheep farm, caught up in its daily demands and the strains of family life. His father, Martin Saxby (Ian Hart), is part of a household where affection is difficult to express. Romanian migrant worker Gheorghe Ionescu (Alec Secăreanu) enters this routine of physical labour and strained company. Johnny wants to keep his distance, but working with Gheorghe makes that harder. Among the sheep and the work of tending them, irritation and attraction begin to complicate a life Johnny has learned to endure.

## Review

*God’s Own Country* is a moving romance that takes the work of farming seriously and asks its love story to be equally convincing. Francis Lee, writing and directing, gives us a young man whose unhappiness has made him difficult to reach. The temptation would be to explain him at once, then send somebody in to put him right. He mostly resists it. There are sheep to tend and a family to live alongside before Johnny Saxby can begin to consider what he wants from another person.

Josh O’Connor makes Johnny’s disaffection wearing, as it should be. He allows him to be unpleasant without continually reassuring us that he will make an agreeable romantic lead. His difficulty with tenderness is convincing enough that we do not spend the early scenes impatiently waiting for him to improve. That matters when Alec Secăreanu’s Gheorghe Ionescu arrives as a Romanian worker on the Yorkshire farm.

Alec Secăreanu gives Gheorghe a composure that makes Johnny’s hostility look exhausting. He makes the attraction credible without pretending that Johnny is easy company. We were moved more than we expected by the awkwardness of their physical intimacy. The sex is frank, and the actors make the effort of accepting another person’s touch as important as the desire for it. The encounter is awkward enough to feel private.

Joshua James Richards’s cinematography finds beauty in the Yorkshire landscape without disguising how hard it is to work there. Stéphane Collonge’s production design makes the farm convincing as a place where people have to work every day. Those choices are useful in a genre that can treat the countryside as a convenient escape. Here, the physical business of sheep farming is allowed to be graphic.

Chris Wyatt’s editing gives the opening a briskness that keeps the farm routine from becoming a test of endurance. As the relationship develops, the small changes between the men are given time to matter. Dustin O’Halloran and Adam Wiltzie’s music accompanies the growing tenderness sensitively, although the performances need little assistance. Ian Hart, as Johnny’s father Martin Saxby, helps make the family strain convincing without competing with the central relationship for our attention.

Gheorghe is the reservation. Francis Lee’s script gives Johnny the more complicated inner life, and sometimes seems to expect the Romanian man to supply the patience and understanding the relationship needs. Alec Secăreanu keeps him credible, but we wanted a clearer sense of what Gheorghe needs independently of Johnny. Too often, the script is interested chiefly in what his presence will do for the other man.

At 104 minutes, the film asks for patience with Johnny, though not an entire evening in his company. The explicit sex and graphic farm work make it a poor choice for anyone hoping the countryside will be soothing. Choose it for the two leads, and allow the tenderness to arrive without a speech announcing it.

*Fi1m score 84, published 17 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

Most critics warmly endorse Francis Lee’s debut, with praise concentrated on the performances, the physical detail of Yorkshire farm life and the romance’s emotional honesty. Josh O’Connor and Alec Secareanu’s chemistry is a recurring strength, while the frank sex scenes are widely seen as integral to the relationship. The reviews also value Lee’s restraint: small changes in behaviour carry the drama without much need for speeches. Several find thoughtful connections between the love story, family tensions and attitudes towards immigration.

The scores span a wide range, but outright dissent is rare. The Times finds that the northern grimness sometimes approaches parody, while still admiring the setting and robust romance. The Playlist’s reservations include occasionally difficult local slang. The Wrap is the clear outlier, arguing that distant camerawork and an overemphasis on physical detail prevent the central relationship from acquiring the nuance and emotional depth most critics find in it.

### Reviews we read (25)

- **The i Paper**, Matthew Turner (★★★★★): The critic calls the debut unmissable and a strong contender for the best British film of the year, praising its achingly British romance, exceptional performances from O’Connor and Secareanu, and Lee’s impressive control of the material including the political subtext. [Read](https://inews.co.uk/culture/film/gods-own-country-review-best-british-film-of-the-year-88041)
- **Empire**, Terri White (90/100, inferred): The critic calls it a stunning debut from Lee and a full-hearted gay love story focused on the transformative power of love between Johnny and Gheorghe as well as with his family. She highlights the delicate, quietly devastating shifts in the characters rather than high drama. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/god-country-review/)
- **Los Angeles Times**, Justin Chang (90/100, inferred): The critic calls it a near-flawless first feature and transporting love story of toughness and tenderness. He singles out the wrenchingly acted bond between the Yorkshire farmer and the Romanian migrant worker. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-gods-own-country-review-20171026-story.html)
- **RogerEbert.com**, Glenn Kenny (90/100, inferred): The critic finds the debut feature a tricky but honest and exceptional story of personal transformation through love and commitment on a Yorkshire farm. He singles out the ravishing landscape cinematography and strong performances for praise. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/gods-own-country-2017)
- **Screen Daily** (90/100, inferred): Lee’s intense romance focuses on a troubled young man on a remote Yorkshire farm, delivering unexpected emotional richness and raw talent. It is a small production big in heart, honesty and an irresistibly hopeful flight as a romance. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/gods-own-country-sundance-review/5112852.article)
- **Sight and Sound**, Alex Davidson (90/100, inferred): Lee’s debut is an eerily beautiful love story between two men and the wild Yorkshire landscape, post-gay and pre-Brexit. It is one of the most exciting British debuts of the past decade, with superb performances and a moving sense of hope amid hardship. [Read](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/film-week-gods-own-country-unites-males-dales)
- **The Hollywood Reporter**, David Rooney (90/100, inferred): The review praises the film's naturalistic drama of love and self-discovery on a Yorkshire farm, highlighting its frank treatment of gay sexuality and strong performances amid a hopeful ending. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/gods-own-country-review-sundance-2017-964686/)
- **The New York Times**, Jeannette Catsoulis (Critic's Pick): The critic praises the bracing, sometimes brutal debut as a story of emotional loosening through an unexpected connection. She singles out the awkward and explicit passion between the two leads amid the harsh Yorkshire landscape. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/24/movies/gods-own-country-review.html)
- **Slant Magazine**, Diego Semerene (3.5/4): The review finds the film moving for its multidimensional portrait of toxic masculinity and family dynamics, praising how tenderness ultimately prevails as a source of strength. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/gods-own-country/)
- **Variety** (Critics Pick): The critic calls it a deeply felt, sexy, thoughtful and hopeful debut that earns its Brokeback comparisons. He singles out the pro-immigration subtext and sympathetic lead performance for praise. [Read](https://variety.com/2017/film/reviews/gods-own-country-review-1201966096/)
- **IndieWire**, Jude Dry (B+): The critic calls it an expertly crafted debut that improves on Brokeback Mountain tropes with a nuanced queer romance and strong direction, avoiding tragic clichés. [Read](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/gods-own-country-sundance-review-gay-1201772800/)
- **Evening Standard**, Charlotte O'Sullivan (80/100, inferred): The critic deems it a winner that is graphic yet subtle, with gentle revelations and strong performances, especially Ian Hart's intimate and agonising turn as the father. She notes how Lee makes the personal political in this hopeful Yorkshire romance. [Read](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/gods-own-country-review-its-grim-but-gripping-up-north-a3682676.html)
- **Financial Times**, Nigel Andrews (80/100, inferred): Lee’s skilfully scripted first feature is the gay movie of the summer, with honest, unflinching love scenes and a dourly enthralling tale of emotional awakening on a provincial farm. The critic singles out the graphic yet moving farm work and the story’s birth-pained pantheism. [Read](https://www.ft.com/content/2aa03572-8da3-11e7-9084-d0c17942ba93)
- **Little White Lies**, Trevor Johnston (3/4/5): The film starts with grungy naturalism but becomes sensual and spiritual, a potent meditation on the transformative power of love. Lee delivers an outstanding debut with authentic performances and heart-rending emotional depth. [Read](https://lwlies.com/reviews/gods-own-country)
- **Radio Times**, Stephen Carty (4/5): A tender romance develops between two young men in this naturalistic, low-key drama set on a windswept Yorkshire farm. Strong performances convey a range of emotions, rewarding patient viewers with a surprisingly hopeful final act. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-bcxd0d/gods-own-country/)
- **The Telegraph**, Robbie Collin (4/5): Lee’s tactile, austere debut follows two young men whose romance unfolds amid the harsh realities of Yorkshire sheep farming. The critic praises the genuine chemistry between the leads, the film’s cumulative emotional power and its debt to but difference from Brokeback Mountain. [Read](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/gods-country-review-brokeback-mountain-yorkshire-moors/)
- **Time Out**, Dave Calhoun (4/5): This confident British indie debut captures a young farmer’s romantic awakening with earthy authenticity and convincing detail. It is a gently romantic film that feels truthful and hopeful rather than pretty or miserable. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/gods-own-country)
- **The Guardian** (70/100, inferred): Francis Lee’s debut is a tender study of a disaffected young farmer whose relationship with a Romanian worker reawakens his connection to the land and himself. The critic highlights the film’s symbolic details, strong performances and parallels with other macho-world love stories rather than Brokeback Mountain. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/sep/03/gods-own-country-review)
- **The Times**, Edward Porter (★★★): The Yorkshire-set debut inevitably recalls Brokeback Mountain yet carves its own identity through its setting and mix of toughness and beauty. Some northern grimness verges on parody but the environment suits the simple, robust love story. [Read](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/film-reviews-the-farthest-the-limehouse-golem-gods-own-country-moon-dogs-eat-locals-and-stratton-cr5bnf2lq)
- **Den of Geek**, Charlotte Harrison (5/5): The film is a marvellous and tenderly-told love story about the transformative and healing powers of loving and being loved. It features two extraordinary central performances that move and warm the heart in equal measure. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/god-s-own-country-review/)
- **HeyUGuys**, Stefan Pape (5/5): The review calls it a striking debut that succeeds visually, narratively and emotionally in an uncompromising way. It singles out the authentic, immersive portrayal of the farm setting and the central romantic relationship for praise. [Read](https://www.heyuguys.com/gods-own-country-review/)
- **Eye for Film**, Amber Wilkinson (85/100, inferred): The critic praises the authentic depiction of farm life and family dynamics rooted in the director's Yorkshire upbringing. The strong chemistry between the leads and the film's emotional payoff are highlighted as strengths. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/gods-own-country-2017-film-review-by-amber-wilkinson)
- **The Skinny**, Jamie Dunn (★★★★): It is a beautiful and tender tale of love that avoids queer canon clichés and crafts a deeply cinematic story with a heart-swelling conclusion free of sentimentality. The film stands out for its raw, real approach to gay sex and the palpable chemistry between the leads. [Read](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/new-releases/gods-own-country)
- **The Playlist**, Gregory Ellwood (B-): The critic finds the film breathes new life into a familiar coming-out story through its focus on intimate physical connection and character transformation. It notes strong performances and grounded sex scenes but criticizes occasional hard-to-understand local slang. [Read](https://theplaylist.net/gods-own-country-is-a-sexy-and-muddy-tale-of-a-gay-man-finding-love-review-sundance-20170121/)
- **The Wrap**, Dan Callahan (30/100, inferred): The critic finds that the film starts promisingly with fast pacing and erotic tension but ultimately fails due to distant camerawork in key scenes and a lack of nuance in the central relationship. It becomes overly focused on saliva, sheep, and close-ups rather than emotional depth or realism. [Read](https://www.thewrap.com/gods-own-country-review-francis-lee-josh-o-connor/)

## Details

- **Director:** Francis Lee
- **Director:** Francis Lee
- **Writer:** Francis Lee
- **Cinematography:** Joshua James Richards
- **Editor:** Chris Wyatt
- **Music:** Dustin O'Halloran, Adam Wiltzie
- **Production design:** Stéphane Collonge
- **Costume design:** Sian Jenkins
- **Producer:** Manon Ardisson, Jack Tarling
- **Cast:** Josh O'Connor as Johnny Saxby; Alec Secăreanu as Gheorghe Ionescu; Gemma Jones as Deidre Saxby; Ian Hart as Martin Saxby; Harry Lister Smith as Trainee Auctioneer; Patsy Ferran as Robyn; Naveed Choudhry as Male Nurse; Stefan Dermendjiev as Bearded Farm Worker
- **Runtime:** 1h 44m
- **Certificate (MPA):** R
- **Release (the US):** 25 October 2017
- **Genres:** Romance, Drama
- **Box office:** $3 million
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQV_pJyGAIg

## Where to watch in the US

- Amazon Prime Video: streaming
- Amazon Prime Video: add-on
- Amazon Prime Video: rent $2.99, sd
- Apple TV: rent $4.99, hd
- Amazon Prime Video: buy $9.99, sd
- Apple TV: buy $12.99, hd

*Checked 2026-09-17.*

Also available in: AR, AT, AU, BE, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, DE, DK, ES, FI, FR, GB, IE, IT, MX, NL, NO, NZ, PA, SE, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## Awards

- Sundance World Cinema Directing Award: Dramatic 2017: Sundance World Cinema Directing Award: Dramatic (won)

## If you liked this

- *Weekend* (2011): An intimate British romance attentive to the difficult talk around physical closeness.
- *Desert Hearts* (1985): Another rural queer romance where desire unsettles a carefully managed life.
- *North Sea Texas* (2011): A quieter Belgian romance, with adolescent longing given space and patience.
- *The Way He Looks* (2014): A Brazilian school romance with a gentler touch and carefully observed attraction.
- *Ali: Fear Eats the Soul* (1974): A harsher account of intimacy and prejudice, with a migrant worker at its centre.

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© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/gods-own-country