Pink Wall

Six scenes, six years: from first sparks to the fading embers of a love affair, in this intense relationship study by British actor-turned-director Tom Cullen.

Jenna (Tatiana Maslany) and Leon (Jay Duplass), US expats in the UK, hook up and fall madly in love. Careers, ambitions, insecurities and other people ultimately intervene and the relationship falters. But this story isn’t told sequentially. Instead, we see six time-shuffled snapshots – moments of blissful connection or bitter recrimination – that reveal the beautiful and brutal truths behind any romance.

Weekend star Cullen’s debut feature is ambitious, extraordinarily accomplished and deeply affecting. Each scene has its own visual style, from grainy 4:3 Academy ratio intimacy to widescreen stasis, informing its dialogue and themes. Working from a semi-improvised script, Maslany and Duplass are superb in what’s largely a two-hander. And though Cullen’s influences include John Cassavetes and Mike Leigh, he’s already on his way to creating his own personal cinema.