Dating Amber (2020): Lovers But Not Lovers

'Dating Amber' is another gem after 'Normal People' (Irish TV series). Yes, the film is located in a small town of Ireland during the '90s. This is a story about the struggle of two Irish teens to come out as what they are. Those iconic characters are Eddie (Fionn O'Shea) and Amber (Lola Petticrew).

Dating Amber (2020)

Genres: comedy, drama

Cast: Fionn O'Shea, Lola Petticrew

The film begins with "the shift". Actually, the shift is a metaphor for the hook-up. Eddie's classmates forced him to shift with a girl, but things didn't turn out right because he is gay, and Eddie's struggle begins here. Eddie's father is an army person. He wants his son to be tough like him and join the army, but Eddie's personality is completely the opposite. Amber is also gay. Amber's father committed suicide. She thinks her father's gone because of the narrow-minded people of the town, that's why she hates it. They don't show any flashbacks about her father in the movie. She dreams about moving to London after schooling.

I want to point out that they portraited school gossiping way too dramatically and also, the dinner table conversations. Amber is a soft target for bullies because she is gay. Now Eddie's name is on the list. So Amber and Eddie decide to fake a relationship to avoid bullies and family drama. The slang used for this type of relationship is Beard. They start hanging out and pretend to be a loving couple. Later Amber and Eddie became really good friends. They know each other's secrets and understand them. Everyone believes that they're madly in love. At some point, you will also think that they are in love.

In the movie, Amber's character is wild and tough. She has accepted herself the way she is. On the other side, for Eddie, it is really hard to accept. He is scared of what people will think. Throughout the movie, you will find Eddie is lifeless and numb. He is keeping everything to himself and feeling troubled to express himself. The story is well-written. Amber and Eddie have played their characters really well. You will love the pretend romance. Its cinematography is way better than any romance movie you have ever seen. 'Dating Amber' is an engaging movie overall. 

The characters of Amber & Eddie are similar to Alyssa & James (from The End of The F***ing World Netflix series) in my opinion. Amber is strong and wild just like Alyssa, while Eddie feels nervous whenever he speaks just like James. Amber & Eddie is a gay version of Alyssa & James. If you like 'The End of The F***ing World', then I highly recommend you to watch 'Dating Amber'.