London Unplugged

Eight million people live in London and this collection of ten vignettes and (literally) a running link suggests that the vast majority of them are too preoccupied with their own concerns to notice anyone else's problems. As is always the case with anthologies, there are misfires. But this has an energy that recalls the French New Wave gem, Paris Vu par... (1965), as the largely neophyte film-makers are prepared to take chances in exploring themes like gender, immigration, alienation, isolation and communication. Mitchell Crawford's animation is bold and sinuously stark, while Rosanna Lowe and Nicholas Cohen make insightful use of short stories by, respectively, Katherine Mansfield and Virginia Woolf. The stellar performances come from Juliet Stevenson as the creepy carer of a cat-loving pensioner and Bruce Payne as a sex shop owner. But more unfamiliar faces also shine as an aspiring opera singer, a call centre drone, an Iranian lesbian applying for asylum and a couple enjoying a late-night dip in a public pool.