Dating Amber

"They have their secret."

2020 1h 32m EN

👍

7.0

SOLID

🔥

94%

CERTIFIED FRESH

😬

METACRITIC

⭐

IMDB

★7.0TMDB · 191🍅94%Rotten Tomatoes●59Metacritic★7IMDB · 8,095

ComedyDramaRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Eddie and Amber decide to stage a relationship in order to stop everyone speculating about their sexuality. Eddie is keen to follow his dad into the military, while Amber dreams of moving to the liberal hub of London. The plan seems solid, but as their arrangement begins to fall apart, Eddie’s denial gets deeper as Amber realizes that a perilous future awaits her best friend unless she intervenes.

“They have their secret.”

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Cast

Fionn O'Shea
Eddie
Lola Petticrew
Amber
Sharon Horgan
Hannah
Barry Ward
Ian
Simone Kirby
Jill
Evan O'Connor
Jack
Ian O'Reilly
Kev
Emma Willis
Tracey

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: David Freyne
Writers: David Freyne
Languages: English
Countries: Belgium, Ireland

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

Released 6 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Belgium, Ireland.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by David Freyne, shot by Ruairí O'Brien. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Joe Sawyer shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Fionn O'Shea and Lola Petticrew and Sharon Horgan carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "They have their secret.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt7886936 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

David Freyne directs. Ruairí O'Brien behind the camera. Joe Sawyer cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Belgium, Ireland. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 6 years ago.
2International production across 2 countries: Belgium, Ireland.
3Directed by David Freyne, shot by Ruairí O'Brien. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Editor Joe Sawyer shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Fionn O'Shea and Lola Petticrew and Sharon Horgan carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "They have their secret.".
7IMDB entry: tt7886936 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Classified under 8 themes, including "high school", "friendship", "london, england", "lgbt".

The technical file

Cinematography: Ruairí O'Brien
Editing: Joe Sawyer
Makeup / hair: Shirley Talbot
Stunt coordinator: Joe Condren
Runtime: 92 min · 1h 32m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
IMDB: Dating Amber (2020)
Rotten Tomatoes: 94% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 59/100
IMDB rating: 7/10 · 8,095 votes
MPAA: Not Rated

Awards

3 wins & 9 nominations

Also by

David Freyne

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

SWITCH.2021-02-15
★ 8/10
'Dating Amber' will tug those gay heartstrings and make you laugh along the way. It's a fabulous watch, offering a new voice in the ever-growing queer cinematic landscape. - Chris dos Santos Read Chris' full article... https://www.maketheswitch.com.au/article/review-dating-amber-gay-coming-of-age-film-shines-with-a-unique-spin-on-a-familiar-trope
CinemaSerf2022-03-28
★ 7/10
This is quite a refreshingly clever coming-of age story with Fionn O'Shea ("Eddie") and Lola Petticrew ("Amber") as two gay teenagers who hit upon the perfect ploy to make sure they are left in peace by their classmates: they decide to date each other! Their cunning plan deceives all their mates and even engenders quite a bit of jealousy from some of his pals whilst giving them a perfect cover. He is a bit smitten with his quite hunky teacher; she wants to escape it all to go to London and be a punk. It's a touching little yarn, with two enjoyable performances from both as they come to terms with living and coming out (or not!) in a small Irish community very much un-used to things gay back in the mid 1990s. I haven't a religious bone in my body, so cannot testify to the accuracy of the representations David Freyne makes of the church, but the Catholic nun's sex education video is remarkably plausible (and bigoted). The writing and directing is uncomplicated. There is no bullying or oppressiveness which maybe doesn't lend too much to it's authenticity, but it does to it's charm. It isn't a gritty warts-and-all story of sexual evolution; it's a frequently comical story of two kids coming to terms with who they are and what they want from life. Like any of us knew at that age....
kinrich302026-08-30
★ 7/10
This was a good movie, it had humor and was very well acted. Basically, you had two gay students who pose as a straight couple so bullies won't call them names. While Amber is comfortable with who she is, Eddie struggles with being gay and doesn't really like himself that much. As the movie ends Amber seems at peace and starting to be happy with her life, but Eddie has a long way to go toward happiness.