Kelly + Victor: A love story with a difference

Director Kieran Evans describes his film Kelly + Victor as a “love story”. However, he adds: “Romantic is not the word for what we’re doing. But it’s searching for something.”

A sense of yearning permeates Kelly + Victor, described as a haunting, candid depiction of a young couple embarking on a passionate and transgressive love affair, but it’s also searching for something that remains deliciously elusive. Like an urban Wuthering Heights but with Kelly as Heathcliff, the film is quite frank in its portrayal of sexual dynamics between the titular characters, and Evans is encouraged by audiences’ reactions to these scenes.

“The subject matter is difficult. It’s not a rom-com by Richard Curtis in any shape or form but I think the attitude to it from the audience has been amazing. I thought there’d be a lot more conversations about the darker edges of it but there’s been a lot more about the characters and their circumstances rather than the actual acts of sex. Which is great.”