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BBFC Ratingf-rated FilmVICTIM

CertificatePG
Year1961
GenreCrime, Drama, Thriller
Director(s)BASIL DEARDEN
CountryUK
Running Time1HR 40MINS
SeasonSecond Sight

Victim is an exposé of London's gay subculture and its associated criminal underworld - shocking on its first release, poignant and powerful today.

Politically compelling, formally polished and the perfect vehicle for Dirk Bogarde in a period of his career marked by challenging, subversive roles, the initial furore around Victim may have died down, but its significance has long outlived the outcry.

Hiding in plain sight, the gay community of 1960s London call Soho their home. This cloistered community live in fear of persecution and under the shadow of blackmail; in a world where gossip spreads through whispered conversations and meaningful glances in crowded bars, where compromising photographs circulate in anonymous envelopes, and where young men are found dead in mysterious circumstances.

Enter Melville Farr: a successful barrister - and a married man - who is drawn into a murder inquiry involving a former acquaintance. As Farr finds himself increasingly implicated in the case, he becomes determined to catch those responsible and refuses to meekly accept his peers' pact of silence and role as victim.

"The film's presentation of sexual oppression remains shockingly relevant to this day." - DAVID JENKINS, LITTLE WHITE LIES



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