Rare Beasts

Billie Piper makes her directorial debut with this acerbic romantic comedy. She also stars as Mandy, a single mother whose tired and cynical approach to the men in her life indicates that she has been chewed up and spat out by the patriarchy. After she's challenged by her new colleague Pete (Leo Bill), the pair begin a relationship that toggles frantically between frustration and short bursts of joy. The taut screenplay is carried by lightning-quick, knotty exchanges, and there's a heightened, jarring quality to the cinematography. Though Rare Beasts is tethered to its central relationship, it lands as a character study of a weary woman grappling with her sense of self-worth - a theme that also runs through Piper's pitch-black TV series I Hate Suzie. The underlying messages are too muddled to be impactful, yet the pointed dialogue and powerful performances make this an auspicious first feature.