Cert 15 Stars 3

Poldark star Aidan Turner adopts a decent American accent in this playful, intriguing and quirky modern day fable of love and self-discovery as a suicidal builder called Russell who struggles to communicate with the woman who may save him from himself.

Brighton-born actress Shannon Tarbet is a bright presence as Bess, despite suffering from a psychological condition which prevents her from seeing or hearing certain people, such as Russell and her mother, played by an unusually sympathetic Chloe Sevigny.

Meanwhile Bess’s father is played by Matthew ‘Ferris Bueller’ Broderick gives a quiet understated performance of quiet dignity as a sufferer of Parkinson’s disease.

A story of ghosts and grief wrapped in a riddle of love, it’s a curiously sunny affair with undercurrents of sadness. Stylised locations are frequented with flashbacks and fantasy sequences, plus the uplifting if whimsical soundtrack and some occasional visual trickery lend the tale a gentle dreamlike quality.

Despite being far too syrupy and sentimental for my taste I still enjoyed it for being a pleasantly off-beat experience with an appealing sense of optimism.