THE L-SHAPED ROOM   1962
Directed by Bryan Forbes
126 minutes
In English

Brahm's Piano Concerto No.1 is a rapturous piece of music, and it is beautifully used in setting the tone for this flick. But there is another musical reference; Smiths fans will recognise a Christmas chorus sung, which was sampled in their song The Queen Is Dead. Directed by Bryan Forbes (Whistle Down the Wind, The Raging Moon), this is an edgy "kitchen-sink" drama with a poetic edge. It stars Leslie Caron as a free-spirited 1960s French girl who stumbles and falls. To put it in other words, she is pregnant. She has traveled to London to give birth, even though she has no idea what to do with the child once it's born. She can barely afford to stay in a ramshackle Notting Hill boarding house with other outsiders of society. In the room next to her is a black jazz musician, down the stairs is an outcast lesbian and an out-of-work writer, and in the basement a couple of prostitutes have set up shop.

Everything about this film feels real. It's full of mood and characters you can relate to, capturing life in London before it exploded as the musical hub of the 60s. The city is still showing the scars of the war, and sleazy teddy boys populate its street corners. This is one of those movies that go head-on into the social issues of the day, taboos such as unmarried mothers, racism and sexuality.

This will be a high-definition screening.