--- title: "The Pass" year: 2016 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-pass" fi1m_id: "the-pass" imdb_id: "tt5160154" tmdb_id: 382475 wikidata_id: "Q27477324" fi1m_score: 72 critics_score: 75 critics_reviews: 11 published: "2026-10-02T23:45:00.120833+00:00" updated: "2026-10-02T23:45:00.698798+00:00" region: "FR" 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." --- # The Pass (2016) Directed by Ben A. Williams · 1h 27m · Drama, Romance ## Identity The Pass - **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/the-pass - **Type:** Film - **Fi1m ID:** the-pass - **IMDb ID:** tt5160154 - **TMDB ID:** 382475 - **Wikidata ID:** Q27477324 - **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5160154/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/382475, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q27477324 **Fi1m score: 72** · Critics 75 from 11 reviews *In a sentence:* Three hotel rooms, ten years apart, and a man who has got very good at not being in them > Ben A. Williams’s film of John Donnelly’s play about a closeted footballer barely leaves its hotel rooms and does not need to. Russell Tovey is first-rate as a man who has traded himself for a career; the middle section works too hard to make its point. ## Synopsis Jason (Russell Tovey) and Ade (Arinze Kene) are nineteen, footballers, and sharing a hotel room abroad the night before a match. One of them is going to be picked. They do what young men in hotel rooms do: wind each other up, trade insults, argue about pizza, and say nothing about the one thing both of them are thinking. Jason, the louder and the more certain of his own future, is already telling the story of his career. Ade is quicker, kinder and still watching to see what Jason wants. By the time the lights go off something has passed between the two beds. The film then jumps five years, and five again, to other hotel rooms, where Lyndsey (Lisa McGrillis) and Harry (Nico Mirallegro) each find Jason waiting with a plan. ## Review Two nineteen-year-olds in a hotel room, the night before a match, with one place in the team between them. That is the whole of the first act of *The Pass*, and it is the best stretch of a good, small film. Jason (Russell Tovey) is the one who talks. Ade (Arinze Kene) is the one who listens and then says the thing Jason did not want said. John Donnelly, adapting his own play, lets them fill forty minutes with dares and insults and a long argument about pizza, and underneath all of it is a question neither boy will ask out loud. Ben A. Williams directs it without fuss. The hotel room is beige, the window shows nothing, and the camera stays close enough that we can see Jason decide, several times, not to look at his roommate. We recommend it, with the usual caveat about a play on film, and with a stronger one: the people who call it urgent and unmissable have oversold it. It is worth your evening if you like watching two actors in a room, which is what it is. Tovey and Kene are plainly older than nineteen and get away with it because the swagger is right. Jason strips, flexes, stamps about half-dressed, checks himself in the mirror and pretends not to; Ade lies on the bed and lets him. Then the lights go down and the first act ends on something small and quiet, and we were surprised by how little it was on screen and how much it obviously cost. Tovey plays the seconds afterwards with his back to us. It is the moment the whole film is built on and Williams does not underline it. Five years on, Jason is a star, and the hotel suite is bigger and whiter. Lyndsey (Lisa McGrillis), a dancer, has been brought to it for reasons that become clear, and McGrillis gives the film a welcome dose of someone who can see straight through its lead and says so. This is the section where the play shows. People deliver positions rather than talk, a mobile phone does more plotting than it should, and the turn at the end of the act is the one time we could feel the writer’s hand on our shoulder. Most critics have noted the staginess and most have forgiven it; we forgive the first and third acts and not quite the second. The third act returns to a hotel, the most expensive yet, and to Ade, and we will not say in what circumstances. We will say that it is where Tovey earns the praise he has had. Jason’s voice has gone flat and his body has gone stiff, and he has turned the old game of dares into something colder, pulling Harry (Nico Mirallegro), a young member of the hotel staff, into it because he no longer knows how else to be in a room with a man. We did not like Jason. We did not like him at nineteen and we liked him less at twenty-nine. We were moved anyway, more than we expected, by the sight of someone trying to restart a joke with the only person who ever understood it, ten years too late. Kene matches him, and does it with less: a stillness, a refusal to be wound up, that tells us where Ade has been without a speech. The craft is modest and mostly sound. The three rooms are graded from cheap to lavish so that the furniture tells us how Jason’s career has gone before anyone mentions it. The cutting is patient in the first act and twitchier in the second, which fits the material if not always the mood. Williams never opens the film out to a stadium or a pitch, and we think that was right; the football is the thing Jason has chosen over everything else, and keeping it offscreen makes the choice look exactly as hollow as it is. At 87 minutes, with a 15 certificate, it asks little of a night in. Watch it with someone who follows the game and someone who does not. They will disagree about Jason, and the film will have done its job. *Fi1m score 72, published 2 October 2026.* ## What the critics say Most critics come away admiring The Pass, and almost every review lands in the same place: Russell Tovey. His performance as Jason, a closeted footballer who moves from innocence to fear and loneliness, is called nuanced, layered, vulnerable and exposed, and several reviewers credit him with making a difficult, sometimes cruel man touching. Arinzé Kene is praised alongside him for matching his presence, and a few critics single out the writing as sharp, witty and gripping. The reservations cluster around the film’s origins as a play. Again and again the word is stagey: static staging, a chamber-piece feel, dialogue that occasionally sounds forced. Eye for Film adds that the small scale and moments of melodrama hold it back, and The Wrap calls it modest. The spread is narrow, with no outright negatives; Den of Geek is the warmest, calling it urgent and raw. ## Straight answers **Is The Pass worth watching?** *The Pass* is worth watching for anyone who likes two actors in a room, and we scored it 72. Russell Tovey is first-rate as a footballer who has traded himself for a career, and the first and third acts in their hotel rooms are quietly affecting. The middle section is stagier and works too hard; those who called it unmissable oversold it. **How long is The Pass, and what is it rated?** *The Pass* runs 1h 27m. It is a drama and romance film. **Where can I watch The Pass in France?** *The Pass* is not on any streaming or rental service in France at the moment. It is available in 7 other countries; change your country at the top of the page to see where. Availability is checked daily. **How violent or frightening is The Pass, and is it suitable for children?** *The Pass* is a 15-certificate drama with no violence or frights to speak of; the adult content is sexual and emotional rather than physical. It is three men and a woman talking, insulting and undressing in hotel rooms over ten years, with a closeted footballer at its centre. It is not for children, but older teenagers interested in the subject would find nothing to alarm them. **How does The Pass compare to Weekend?** *The Pass* and [*Weekend*](https://film.one/film/weekend) are both small British films about two men, mostly talk, in one or two rooms, but *Weekend* is the better and the warmer of the two. Haigh's film is a love story told across a single weekend; Donnelly's is about a man who refuses one, told across a decade. Start with *Weekend* if you want to be moved, *The Pass* if you want to watch someone fail to be. **What should I watch after The Pass?** After *The Pass*, try [*Weekend*](https://film.one/film/weekend) (2011, Fi1m 86): Two men, one Nottingham flat, two days, and a conversation that turns out to be everything. Then [*God's Own Country*](https://film.one/film/gods-own-country) (2017, Fi1m 84): A Yorkshire farmer learns to want something; mud, lambing and a great deal of not talking; and [*Happy Together*](https://film.one/film/happy-together) (1997, Fi1m 86): Two men in a rented Buenos Aires room, breaking up and starting again, beautifully shot. ### Reviews we read (11) - **Little White Lies**, Tom Williams (3/4/4): The critic calls the film refreshing, nuanced and urgently worthwhile, despite some forced dialogue. They praise Russell Tovey’s nuanced portrayal of a closeted footballer under pressure. [Read](https://lwlies.com/reviews/the-pass) - **Empire**, Ian Freer (75/100, inferred): Freer finds the drama compelling despite its static, stagey feel. He singles out Russell Tovey’s layered performance and the sharp writing for giving the intimate story depth. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/pass-review/) - **Evening Standard**, Charlotte O'Sullivan (75/100, inferred): O'Sullivan finds the film a wrenching, sharply observed look at betrayals and the cost of protecting a public image. She singles out Russell Tovey's performance as sublime and praises Arinzé Kene for matching his magnetic presence. [Read](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/the-pass-film-review-some-fancy-footwork-over-the-beautiful-game-s-awkward-truths-a3416491.html) - **The Guardian**, Peter Bradshaw (75/100, inferred): Bradshaw finds the drama ambitious and insightful, though its stage origins sometimes show. He particularly praises Russell Tovey’s performance as his character moves from innocence to fear and loneliness. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/dec/08/the-pass-review-ambitious-and-insightful-drama-about-gay-footballers) - **Variety**, Catherine Bray (75/100, inferred): Bray finds the film absorbing and theatrically constrained, but says its tense chamber-piece approach works. She especially praises Russell Tovey’s knockout performance as a closeted soccer player. [Read](https://variety.com/2016/film/festivals/the-pass-review-1201731539/) - **Screen Daily**, Fionnuala Halligan (64/100, inferred): The page identifies this as Fionnuala Halligan’s review of Ben A. Williams’s 2016 film. The paywall hides the verdict and any specific praise or complaint. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/the-pass-review/5101585.article) - **Den of Geek**, Simon Brew (90/100, inferred): The critic calls the film urgent, raw, unmissable, and a real achievement. He singles out Russell Tovey’s performance and the compelling chemistry between the two leads. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/the-pass-review/) - **The Skinny**, Philip Concannon (★★★★): Concannon finds the film sharp and emotionally rich, though it never quite overcomes its staginess. He singles out Russell Tovey’s vulnerable, knockout performance and the play’s witty, gripping writing. [Read](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/festivals/uk-festivals/film/bfi-flare-the-pass) - **NME** (75/100, inferred): The critic calls the film poignant and provocative despite flaws, finding its portrayal of repression uncomfortably realistic. They praise Russell Tovey and Arinzé Kene’s lead performances, especially their nuanced portrayals of Jason and Ade. [Read](https://www.nme.com/reviews/pass-film-review-1898947) - **Eye for Film**, Owen Van Spall (68/100, inferred): The critic finds the film largely effective, though its small scale and occasional melodrama hold it back. They single out the powerful performances by Russell Tovey and Arinzé Kene for praise. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/the-pass-2016-film-review-by-owen-van-spall) - **The Wrap** (65/100, inferred): The critic finds the film modest but focused and skillful, while noting that it remains stagey. Tovey’s emotionally exposed performance is singled out for making Jason’s plight touching despite his cruelty. [Read](https://www.thewrap.com/the-pass-review-russell-tovey/) ## Details - **Director:** Ben A. Williams - **Director:** Ben A. Williams - **Screenplay:** John Donnelly - **Producer:** Duncan Kenworthy - **Cast:** Russell Tovey as Jason; Arinze Kene as Ade; Lisa McGrillis as Lyndsey; Nico Mirallegro as Harry; Rory J. Saper as Bellboy - **Runtime:** 1h 27m - **First release (the UK):** 16 March 2016 - **Genres:** Drama, Romance - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZenLkhmG78 ## Where to watch in France Not streaming, renting or buying in France at the last check. Also available in: AT, CA, CH, DE, GB, IE, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## If you liked this - *Weekend* (2011), Fi1m 86: Two men, one Nottingham flat, two days, and a conversation that turns out to be everything. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/weekend.md) - *God's Own Country* (2017), Fi1m 84: A Yorkshire farmer learns to want something; mud, lambing and a great deal of not talking. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/gods-own-country.md) - *The Damned United* (2009): Football as ego and loneliness, with the pitch kept almost entirely out of view. - *Happy Together* (1997), Fi1m 86: Two men in a rented Buenos Aires room, breaking up and starting again, beautifully shot. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/happy-together.md) - *Beautiful Thing* (1996), Fi1m 80: A Thamesmead estate, two teenage boys, and a film that is kind without going soft. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/beautiful-thing.md) --- © 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/the-pass