Jamie's single mother, Sandra (Linda Henry), is preoccupied with ambitious plans to run her own pub and has an ever-changing string of lovers; the latest of these is Tony (Ben Daniels), a neo-hippie.

Sandra finds herself at odds with Leah (Tameka Empson), a sassy and rude neighbour who has been expelled from school, takes a variety of drugs, and constantly listens and sings along to her mother's Cass Elliot records.

While Jamie's homosexuality remains concealed, his introverted nature and dislike of football are reason enough for his classmates to bully him.

Jamie works up the nerve to steal a Gay Times from a newsagent, apparently starting to accept his sexuality and affection for Ste.

The site's consensus reads: "An engaging slice of life drama that happens to double as a gay coming-of-age story, Beautiful Thing captures its place and time with deceptive depth and skill".

"[8] Stephen Holden from The New York Times commented, "Ms. Henry is wonderful as a woman whose fighting spirit masks a streak of hard-bitten tenderness.

The film debuted on Blu-ray in France by the distributor Optimale on 1 June 2021, to be later followed by a UK release due for 18 March 2024 by BFI.