British Gala

The complicated relationships between parents and children have often found their way into the writing of Hanif Kureishi, but this portrait of an older woman re-evaluating her life takes these ideas in a new direction. A perfectly paced and absorbing opening sequence sees May and her husband Toots exchange the familiarity and calm of their provincial home for the daunting bustle of London, where they’ve come to visit their children and grandchildren.

It’s not just the city which feels strange, but the family too, as both their son and daughter seem so caught up with the stresses and strains of their own lives as to be largely indifferent to their guests. When Toots suffers a heart attack and dies, May decides to stay longer in London, but feels almost invisible in her children’s busy, self-centred lives.

The only person of the younger generation who seems to have any time for her is Darren, who is renovating her son’s house and sleeping with her daughter. Reflecting back on her life, May is forced to think about who she is – and who she might become – and finds a spirit of adventure which she’s only now able to express. Reuniting Kureshi with director Roger Michell (The Buddha of Suburbia, Notting Hill, Changing Lanes), this wonderfully bittersweet drama is made all the more believable thanks to the solidly eloquent perfomance of Anne Reid in the title role.

Sandra Hebron