In From the Side is a labour-of-love romantic drama from writer-director Matt Carter, funded by Kickstarter and wearing its heart on its sleeve. It’s a surging soap opera, spotlighting the clandestine romance of Mark and Warren (Alexander Lincoln and Alexander King), bearded rugby players in the ranks of the South London Stags. Mark and Warren clearly adore one another but they are both compromised, and their relationship plays out via stolen kisses and illicit hook-ups that run parallel to the slow-motion action on the pitch. Sometimes, very rarely, a team of sporting underdogs can compensate for their lack of technique with sheer bloody-minded passion; a bone-headed will to succeed. This one almost makes it, but a boggy script slows it down.
