PINK WALL
***
Dir: Tom Cullen (15, 85 mins)
Welsh actor Tom Cullen makes his directorial debut in this meditative drama about a relationship, expertly played by Tatiana Maslany and Jay Duplass. Over six years we see six scenes from their relationship, all played with improvisatory zeal by Duplass and Maslany, who make a believable, fractious couple. Leon (Duplass) is a bit of a free spirit, his partner Jenna (Maslany) is more ambitious and driven. It’s not a relationship full of hearts and flowers: it’s niggly, believable and uncomfortable. A great deal of the drama happens off camera and like the excellent fragmentary French film 5×2 by Francois Ozon, we catch a glimpse of their first night together whilst also seeing the delicate implosions that follow. Welsh location fans will love seeing parts of mid-Wales around Rhayader which form backdrops to their relationship wrangling and an awkward dinner party scene allows fellow Welsh actors, Kyle Lima, Ruth Ollman and others, a chance to shine. It’s a film with plenty of navel-gazing but Cullen makes the drama work along with his two committed lead actors.
Opens Dec 15
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