New Town Original review

Mick is depressed. He's got no direction, a crap office job and a social life that revolves around a leisure and retail park near Basildon. He's starting to wonder if his twenties are ever going to bring him more than nine-to-five daily grind, resentment and Prozac. And then he accidentally pulls the recent ex-girlfriend of the local hard case...

It sounds grim, but it isn't. An unknown, upbeat cast bring bags of energy to an engaging set-up - - and while the limits of the budget sometimes show, there's a self-confidence and sense of aspiration that seem to come as much from the filmmakers as from the pensive lead character. Original? Maybe not entirely. But the non-preachy awareness of the realities of urban Britain are nicely balanced with the bouncy soundtrack and a bright, optimistic script. It's just a shame it won't be shown in the multiplexes of New Towns everywhere.