Review: Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool (15)

Starring Annette Bening as Grahame and Jamie Bell as Peter Turner (upon whose memoir the film is based), it’s a defiantly unsentimental yet heartfelt portrait of their incongruous relationship.

The incongruity has less to do with the age difference (about which the film remains admirably non-judgmental) and more to do with the culture clash between working class Britain and an idea of Hollywood that’s so ephemeral it can elude the grasp of even those who had a hand in creating it. Glaswegian director Paul McGuigan understands that dynamic well and gets great performances from his leads, making a virtue of their chemistry together, particularly in the early joyous stages of their relationship when Peter, charmingly, has no idea who Grahame is.

On general release