MIRANDA

SATURDAY 1 NOVEMBER AT 7PM UGC SHAFTESBURY AVE SCREEN 1

Country UK Running Time 90 mins Format Super 35 Dir Marc Munden Prod Laurence Bowen S'play Rob Young DoP Ben Davis Cast Christina Ricci, John Simm, Kyle MacLachlan, John Hurt Print Source Path» E info@pathe-uk.com

Frank (Simm) is a librarian with a romantic streak. Struck with love for a beautiful stranger named Miranda (Ricci), he dares to speak his feelings and winds up in a whirlwind of intrigue, sexual and otherwise. The elusive Miranda presents many facades: she's a businesswoman or a dancer in different tellings, and though Frank enjoys the chase after her identity, he wonders if a working stiff can hold on to such an exotic creature. The plot thickens as Miranda, in reality a confidence trickster wedged in a complex set of schemes between Fagin-like Christian (Hurt) and sleazy millionaire Nailor (MacLachlan), is pressured for cash by one and sex by the other. She seeks solace with her slightly loopy new lover, but it's anybody's guess whether they'll emerge unscathed from this thicket of high-stakes agendas.

Miranda draws on two distinct genres - the kitchen sink surrealism of bathetic tales of northern loserdom (think Phoenix Nights) and David Lynch's dreamlike explorations of identity and sexuality (with the overpowering sense of dread replaced by a whimsical belief in the power of happy endings) - to create a highly original adult comedy. The film is sexy, stylish, and beautifully shot - the English urban wasteland has never looked so poetically decayed. BW

Marc Munden is an Emmy award winner and BAFTA nominee for his work on television, which includes Vanity Fair (BBC) and Touching Evil (ITV). This is his first feature film.