Frequencies

Though a little on the long side, this low-key British sci-fi romance charts the tortuous path of true love for a severely mismatched couple. It's set in a future where children are defined by their frequency, which is great for Marie who has phenomenal good luck but not so for Zak, her polar opposite in bad fortune. Never the twain should meet (at least for no more than a minute, or else planes could fall from the sky), but unfortunately for Zak, he's in love and spends the rest of his life trying to win her affections - a virtual impossibility since pupils with Marie's frequency have all the empathy of a machine. It's an absorbing and often thought-provoking journey - any film that can blend Magritte, Mozart and the machinations of fate could never be boring - although the diversion into conspiracy theory territory does somewhat divert from the love story aspect of trajectory of the tale. Still, Eleanor Wyld and Daniel Fraser as the adult lovers remain convincing and charmingly real, and it makes a pleasant change to watch a sci-fi tale not reliant on big bangs and special effects.