Common People

Kerry Skinner and Stewart Alexander's directorial debut has nothing to do with the Pulp song, but is a genial mesh of six stories taking place across Tooting Common in South London. The linking device of an escaped parrot is a touch contrived, but it allows the co-directors to flit between a cash-strapped single father, an expectant mother, a couple of devoted pensioners, an alcoholic in love with a black Muslim, a taciturn homeless man and a troop of young "Intrepid Adventurers". Nothing remarkable happens and the bid to pack in topical issues sometimes feels as forced as the mix of social and ethnic types. But Alexander's script deftly captures the sense of community that prompts strangers to make the effort to communicate with each other or do good deeds. Sam Kelly and Diana Payan stand out as the pensioners relishing each other's company, while Skinner amuses as the naive singleton awaiting the birth of an unknown soldier's baby.