I should not have been surprised by the block of council flats whose crushingly Soviet, flat concrete exterior and dangerous walkways were so often depicted. England is a living dystopia; drugs are what its gay men need just to survive.
And now the de facto journal of American gay opinion, Out, curiously claims the exact opposite (unreadable original; Readability version; emphasis added):
There are equal moments of passion, pain, and high comedy in Weekend, all played out against a dreary backdrop of the English Midlands. “Nottingham is a nowhere town,” Haigh says. “So many films are about hipsters in cool parts of town. A lot of people don’t exist in those worlds. They might live in ugly tower blocks but find beauty in what they do.” Haigh discovers the splendo[u]r as well – his camera lovingly frames smoke delicately wafting from a council tower’s chimney and the contrast of illuminated high-rises against a polluted sky.