Kelly + Victor

Adapted from Niall Griffiths' novel of the same name, Evans' debut feature follows the perilously intense relationship between two Liverpudlian twenty-somethings. After meeting in a club, Kelly (Campbell-Hughes) and Victor (Morris) go home together. They start having sex, but it quickly takes an unexpected turn: she (with his consent) begins strangling him until he almost passes out.

Such encounters recur with greater intensity as their relationship progresses, each an ecstatic peak in their otherwise quotidian lives. What's remarkable about these scenes is the skill with which Evans, aided by the leads' rapturous performances, combines violence with tenderness, and thereby captures the complementary, turbulent yet harmonious nature of Kelly and Victor's relationship.

If only they didn't have to talk. Not only are their attempts at Scouse accents risible, their dialogue can be soapishly clunky. Their intimacy, so authentic and vital when non-verbal, feels a little like fakery as soon as they open their mouths. In all seriousness, as a silent film it could've been a small masterpiece; as it is, it falls short.