Customer Reviews
Could have been so much better - By: Apple-eater, 08 Oct 2007 
Ok, a look at the synopsis suggests you're not in for a bunch of laughs watching this film, but still....
There is some fine acting & writing in this, but you end up just longing for the film to end. The film is very obviously set in today's England, & filmed very naturalisticallly. Also, the story of a mother dying, & the grief of her bereaved daughters, is one which should touch a chord with many viewers.
But it's just hard to feel involved or care, & the story just meanders.
Raw, Rude, Rebellious and Deeply Real. - By: Ms. Morven Lennox, 02 Oct 2007 
This is essentiallly the story of a young woman, Iris, who wants more from life than the conventional relationship-marriage-children & mediocre career that her boyfriend & her sister, Rose, have settled for. This comes to the fore when her mother dies & Rose cannot support her emotionallly, being grief-stricken herself & heavily pregnant, & Iris discovers that none of her family or friends share her curiosity about life & love so tries to find her own path. However, instead of forming more stimulating relationships, she experiences a string of impersonal sexual encounters, becoming more confused than ever & ends up confusing everyone else. I nearly lost empathy with the protagonist myself when she tries to seduce her sister's husband but being a sensible type, he doesn't go for it. After a particularly degrading sexual experience, Iris realises that she does not have to express her energy & grief physicallly through the `skin', which is a metaphor for her raw sexuality, & decides to become a singer. Rather than turn out to be naturallly brilliant, (which would have been corny & unrealistic), she makes the effort to join a local choir (not the X Factor!) & takes lessons.
I loved the soundtrack, which is racy & powerful, & the scene where she expresses her anger & frustration at losing her mother by forcibly seducing a stranger in a cinema plays while simultaneously we see the mother's coffin going into the incinerator. Another nice touch is the fact that we know the story takes place over a very short time because Rose never actuallly gives birth, the pregnancy itself enhancing the film's theme of life, death & procreation.
I also loved the fact that this is essentiallly a `woman's' film but without the usual fluff & sop, & any potential bleakness or sentimentality is annihilated by its subtle humour, particularly in the predictability of the frustrating phone callls!
