It stars Brian Cox, Eileen Atkins, Angus Macfadyen, Corey Parker, Cathy Tyson, John Schlesinger, René Auberjonois, Ben Daniels and Nigel Whitmey.

Meanwhile, Philip's boyfriend, an American named Elliot, receives a visit from his adoptive parents Derek and Geoffrey, the gay couple who raised him.

Philip remains friends with Elliot's female flatmate, Jerene, a PhD student writing her thesis on languages and behaviour.

[3] It was shown in the United States on PBS on 24 June 1992 as part of Great Performances, but was selectively edited using alternative takes for its television airing.

According to producer Ruth Caleb, in the American version, there is no frontal nudity, the actors are semi-clothed, and a scene in a pornographic theater also was edited for U.S.

Donald Wildmon and his American Family Association, a number of PBS stations, such as WFYI in Indianapolis, WMFE in Orlando, KEDT in Corpus Christi, and KMBH in Harlingen, Texas, refused to show the film.

In his review for the PBS airing, John J. O'Connor wrote that the cast, directed by Nigel French, "is quite admirable, from the dominant presences of Angus MacFadyen and Brian Cox to the brief but perfectly attuned appearances of the film director John Schlesinger and Rene Auberjonois as a gay couple visiting from Long Island...some passing sex scenes would be considered fairly standard television arrangements of entwined torsos and heavy kissing except, of course, that these involve same-sex partners.

[10] TV critic Ken Tucker said in his review of the PBS airing that the film is an excellent example of "British 'kitchen sink' drama, in which characters trapped in stifling emotional situations discuss, argue, and fight over their problems from every angle".