Having You

Convincing central performances and a moving finale compensate for an uneven tone in actor-turned-director Sam Hoare's contrived but heartfelt relationship drama. Working best in its most thoughtful and understated moments, the convenient story sees recovering alcoholic Andrew Buchan struggle to manage his many responsibilities when an old one-night stand (Anna Friel) shows up with a seven-year-old she says is his, shortly after he's proposed to his miserably infertile girlfriend (Hoare's real-life wife Romola Garai). Events are further complicated by Buchan's increasingly difficult interactions with his embittered dad (Philip Davis): painful scenes that make his sweetly clumsy attempts to bond with his own son all the more charming. Where the film stumbles is in its forced and unnecessary stabs at irreverence and broad humour, with crude sex talk and one jarringly comedic supporting character at odds with the predominantly sensitively handled material.