Spider and Rose

Writer/director Bennett's road comedy pits an irresponsible young ambulance driver (on his last day at work) against a grouchy old widow, still reeling from her husband's death in a car accident a year earlier. During a long, eventful journey together, the pair predictably come to terms with each other, but thanks to an occasionally tart script and Ruth Cracknell's unsentimental, convincingly vigorous performance, the movie manages to avoid the worst pitfalls of the genre. Minor but - at least after a hesitant start - surprisingly engaging.