Vroom

Down those cobbled streets a man must go in Beeban Kidron's feature debut, about two Lancashire lads - Owen the smooth guy all the girls want to kiss, Thewlis a spiky-haired loon - who decide to kick it all in and joyride off to nowhere. The brightly promising first half has Owen conducting a passionate affair with sultry divorcée Quick, and the direction has zip and sensuality to spare, with especially atmospheric photography. However, Jim Cartwright's script is thin on the ground and detours into road movie clichédom, losing the film its early exuberance and eventually flying off into unconvincing whimsy. But then that's probably the message - that pure fantasy is the only way out of the mortgage repayments.