Late September

It’s a laudable notion to create an improvised drama around the romantic travails of the older generation, but this micro-budget offering lacks acting skills and filmmaking nous. In leafy Kent, Gilly (Anna Mottram) and Ken (Richard Vanstone) have reached the terminal stage of a 40-year marriage. But does their bickering hide deep affection or barely contained resentment? As family and friends gather for a birthday party, answers will be forthcoming. While the cast are relatable enough in mundane discord, as the emotional temperature rises, it all gets platitudinal. Making this harder to bear is deadening direction and digital camerawork with all the subtlety of a wedding video. Much as one wants to root for indie cinema, this just isn’t in the same universe as Mike Leigh or Joanna Hogg.