175 (short film) review – Karimi’s film is held aloft by the performances of McInnerny and Hamilton

Kasra Karimi’s short film, 175, is awaiting a UK-wide release date.

On Tuesday, 5th February 2013, the fight for gay marriage was finally won in parliament. On that day, the then British Prime Minister David Cameron tweeted, “Strong views exist on both sides, but I believe MPs voting for gay people being able to marry too, is a step forward for our country.” Yet Cameron was adrift in his own party, the Conservatives. While the Bill’s second reading won the vote with 400 supporting MPs, 175 voted against it, and over half of Cameron’s ruling party declined to support his government’s Bill.

Roger Gale, a veteran Conservative MP, said, “Marriage is the union between a man and a woman – has been historically, and remains so.” MPs like Gale seemed oblivious to the rights of all people to be allowed to cement their love and gain the same rights in law. At the heart of that vote were the hopes, dreams and wishes of so many gay couples who had been together for years but had been denied full equality. Ruth (Lizzy McInnerny) and Juliet (Suzanna Hamilton) are just one of those couples, but unlike many others, time is not on their side in finally being allowed to say, “I do.”

Inspired by true events, Kasra Karimi’s tender and emotional short film, 175, explores the months and weeks leading up to that historic vote as Juliet’s terminal illness progresses. As the vote is passed in parliament, time is running out, but Ruth is determined to ensure the couple can finally share their vows.

Karimi’s delicate yet powerful twenty-two-minute film is about the human emotions dismissed by 175 MPs who put their own views and opinions above those of many of their constituents in the parliamentary vote. It is the story of one couple’s wish to marry before time runs out and the tale of so many gay couples in the United Kingdom who fought for full marriage equality right up to their final breath. Heartfelt, tender and urgent, Karimi’s film is held aloft by the beautiful performances of McInnerny and Hamilton and the delicate score of Alan Snelling.

175 celebrates those who fought for change while asking us not to forget that the fight for equality is ongoing. It reminds us that we all have a duty not to succumb to the complacent feeling that “the job is done.” In truth, the equality we all fought for remains delicate, and our rights remain political playthings of some politicians, who would gladly take Britain back to the 1950s if given the chance.