Cert 15 Stars 3

An excellent cast fails to inject energy into this studiously low-key drama crafted with painful sincerity and respect for sufferers and carers of mental illness.

One time Bond villain Javier Bardem stars as a near catatonic patient who’s experiencing visions of alternative lives he could have lived, with Elle Fanning, Salma Hayek and Laura Linney offering degrees of compassion as the women in his life.

It’s written and directed by Brit Sally Potter who includes some far from subtle political commentary and explores ideas of identity, memory and history previously touched upon in her 1992 arthouse hit, Orlando.