Adrift in Soho

Pablo Behrens's adaptation of Colin Wilson's cult 1961 novel conveys the mood of the jazz clubs and coffee bars that sought to reclaim Soho from the vice and violence that had driven away the émigré shopkeepers. Evocative, intriguing and chic, it captures the bohemian spirit that made it a Mecca for musicians, writers and film-makers. Indeed, this is more of a mood piece than a conventional drama, as provincial scribe Owen Drake strives to find his voice in the company of womanising actor Chris Wellington and Emily Seale-Jones, an aspiring film-maker drawn more to the raw authenticity of Free Cinema than the kind of sensationalist actuality that collaborator Angus Howard sees as a means to an end. Closer in tone to Jacques Rivette's Paris Belongs to Us (1960) than Julien Temple's Absolute Beginners (1986), it's adeptly designed by Steven Blundell and richly photographed by Martin Kobylarz. Some of the supporting performances are a bit stiff, but the movie is full of quirky exchanges and colourful characters.