Break My Fall

Kanchi Wichmann’s promising debut contains plenty of sights, sounds and sensations that will be familiar to those acquainted with the east London queer scene – indeed, a timely sense of place is one of the strengths of this twentysomething drama, set over a few days, about a couple approaching the end of their tether. Liza (Kat Redstone) is moody and determined, Sally (Sophie Anderson) softer with less direction; both are negotiating impulse control,  power dynamics, long-term hopes, sex, drugs and rock ’n’ roll (they’re members of the same band). Their friends Jamie (Collin Clay Chace) and Vin (Kai Brandon Ly) are also finding their way. Although let down by variable dialogue and performances, ‘Break My Fall’ boasts strong music from current local bands and impressive photography, as well as some powerfully sustained set pieces: scenes of out-of-it clubbing and domestic discord – notably a wordless morning-after sequence comprising lengthy, brightly lit takes – generate both plausibility and suspense, if not quite Fassbinder-grade toxic tension.