I was sent this screener recently and while I love the premise you always have to wonder how good a film that you get for free is. However I was blown away with this one.

Help follows a woman called Grace who goes to visit her friend (Liv) and said friend’s boyfriend (Ed) for Ed’s birthday. Grace soon discovers that the life that her friend and her boyfriend are living is not all that it seems and Grace and Ed also have a very interesting backstory that is slowly unravelled throughout the film.

In the first half of this film it really reminded me of I’m Thinking of Ending Things with how it cut back and forth through time to show you the relationships in this group evolving and changing. But then we got into the second half of the film and it became much more a standard drama that we see from British filmmakers. It was very well done and kept you engaged the whole time, and while I feel some of the elements lacked in terms of creating suspense, it had a really great storyline that kept you interested from start to finish and really entertained me.

One issue I had with the film was near the end, I will not spoil it so you can go and enjoy it yourself, but it felt like the acting was a bit over the top and seemed a bit strange to me. However the actual ending that came after that scene, which was a look at the beginning of the three forming their friendship, was really fantastic and enveloped how much hope you have with a friend meeting your new partner and how quickly these issues can come to light.

I really enjoyed the setting and location of the film, it was all in one home so it was quite claustrophobic and interesting to see how the couple live versus Grace’s more modest lifestyle. The dog, Polly, was the highlight of the film for me, I absolutely adored her and she was so cute, and the actors were very good in their portrayal of the characters. There is a twist at the end of the film that again I didn’t appreciate too much, I understand where they were coming from with it in keeping you on your toes, but to me it felt a bit over the top but didn’t distract from the rest of the film.

If you get the chance to watch this film I highly recommend it, it’s a great British film with great actors and a really engaging storyline that I don’t feel has been done before. It really encapsulated that winter-drama feel that I love from these sort of films. It is available on demand and digital now so go check it out as I promise you, you will not regret it.

Are you thinking of watching this movie? Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

Until next time.

Published by shonaharding

Media graduate with a passion for reviewing film and TV. View all posts by shonaharding