Happy New Year, Colin Burstead

British indie trailblazer Ben Wheatley's seventh feature is closer in style to his low-budget breakthrough Down Terrace than the star-laden High-Rise and Free Fire. But the calibre of his cast makes it feel grander. Neil Maskell plays the eponymous host, who books a stately home ("like f***ing Downton") for New Year's Eve to confirm his commitment to family - although none of his guests seem especially keen on attending. Dad (Bill Paterson) frets over "a liquidity problem", his ailing mum (Doon Mackichan) takes a tumble ("How long's she been in a wheelchair?" "About 15 minutes."), and sister Gini (Hayley Squires) struggles to stage-manage a reconciliation between Colin and their cocky prodigal brother (Sam Riley), while the likes of Asim Chaudhry, Joe Cole, Sinead Matthews and a cross-dressing Charles Dance look at ease in their part-improvised roles. Skilfully edited by Wheatley and shot by regular cameraman Laurie Rose with a few nods to Shakespeare, the narrative improves when given time to breathe, while the fractured sense of a gathering in multiple rooms is well conveyed. Brexit and the class system are addressed, but you must draw your own conclusions about how symbolic this riven group actually is. Indeed, Clint Mansell's Elizabethan-sounding score suggests the social chaos on show is more deep-rooted than what has emerged since the 2016 referendum.