Paper Marriage

Alicjia (Trepechinska) comes from Warsaw to Newcastle to marry an accommodating Englishman, only he isn't so accommodating this side of the channel. Being, she says, resourceful and emancipated, she sets about finding work and a husband. Aiden (Kemp) fits the bill: he's a British citizen and desperate for money. Although their marriage is a sham, circumstances contrive to keep the couple together, for richer, for poorer, for better, for worse. Peter Weir made essentially the same story with a New York setting and a French star; but in contrast to Green Card's lush romanticism, this is cold and depressing. Lang and his Polish crew obviously felt no compulsion to prettify Newcastle, and it's no surprise when Alicjia starts to gaze longingly at flight offers to the US. By the same token, there's no warmth in the relationship. Trepechinska gives a fair account of herself without ever reconciling the contradictions inherent in the role, while Kemp proves so soft-spoken he barely registers. That's one trouble with a marriage of convenience: there's no meaningful long-term engagement.