Angel Baby

A problematic but intense romance develops between Harry (Lynch) and Kate (McKenzie), who meet at a day-clinic for the psychologically disturbed. Family, friends and shrinks are happy about the relationship at first, but when Kate announces she's pregnant, concern grows over whether the couple can cope. True to tradition, Rymer strives to ensure that our sympathies lie with his optimistic outsiders rather than with the more conventionally settled. Happily, however, tendencies towards fairytale whimsy are mostly held in check by crisp visuals, an imaginative use of music, and down-to-earth performances. It's a sensitive, witty film, with an oddly benign take on the effects of watching TV quiz shows, and admirably ambivalent about the causes of the lovers' troubles.