Past Perfect

A clutch of young actors congregate for a long weekend at a country house, the wintry sequel to summer's frolics. This time around, some pairings have changed, new partnerships are imminent within and without, and professional rivalries strut their stuff as the sojourn progresses. Rather more of a rural Friends than the explicitly referenced The Big Chill, this all too derivative piece lacks any of the significant 'journeys of life' of the latter, seeking gravitas instead by deploying Nick Drake songs and Pessoa quotes. It's enthusiastically played and reasonably assembled but feels altogether too indulgent, drifting free of any real lows or highs.