Nocturnal

Like a lot of modestly budgeted contemporary UK feature debuts, Nocturnal feeds off its location; here, the Yorkshire coast, where giant windmills mark time from the skyline. Teenage protagonist Laurie (Lauren Coe) trains at the school athletic track at night to avoid her single mum (Sadie Frost), whom she resents for having her after a tryst with her long-absent father. Enter tongue-tied house painter Pete (played by the Brando-esque Cosmo Jarvis), who takes a shine to her, despite the fact that he is 33 ("like Jesus"). A soulful ape who paints delicate stars on a customer's ceiling, his interest in Laurie proves problematic, especially when the odd couple run together at night and dance at a "silent disco" before progressing to the reckless sharing of Ecstasy, which proves a devastating, though signposted, pivot. Director Nathalie Biancheri has a sharp understanding of transience, and the ferry to Rotterdam acts as a siren call to the restless in a drama that paints a vivid picture of desire and lost souls.