Sometimes Always Never

Bill Nighy, Sam Riley and Alice Lowe star in this stylish and heartfelt comedy-drama about a Scrabble-obsessed tailor searching for a lost son.

Sharp of suit and vocabulary, Bill Nighy is winningly deadpan as Scrabble-obsessed Merseyside tailor Alan, whose eldest son Michael stormed out of the house after a particularly heated round of the popular board game, never to return. Years later, Alan and his other son Peter (a sensitive turn by Sam Riley) continue the search while trying to repair their own strained relationship.

Working from a typically witty and astute script by veteran screenwriter Frank Cottrell-Boyce (24 Hour Party People), director Carl Hunter deploys a vivid visual style and striking production design to capture the shifting moods of a family who know plenty of words but struggle to communicate. A triple score-worthy supporting cast includes Alice Lowe, Jenny Agutter and Tim McInnerny.