Vicki Englund, Journalist

"If you take it with a grain of ‘fictional’ salt, you can still feel your admission price was worth it, if not for the gorgeous frocks and scenery."

Performances are excellent all round, including Fiennes who, unlike a lot of his quite cold stints in other films, exudes warmth as the charismatic Dickens.

The chemistry between the leads is charming and touching, and it’s highly likely you’ll be shedding a few tears at this moving story, despite a good dose of wit and humour.

The encore eased them down with Kelly’s I’m Not Afraid Of The Dark Anymore with the musicians vocally harmonising then moving into a somewhat off-kilter-sounding instrumental passage, rounding off the song cycle that “meditates on time, mortality, friendship and love”.

Both exhibitions bring into focus the importance of ‘disabled’ not having to mean ‘less than’.

Frances Ha is still mostly upbeat and optimistic, thanks largely to Gerwig’s irresistible presence.

Germain even ends up physically appearing in the stories as we see them unfold, so it all gets very postmodern indeed. Whether it’s completely satisfying by the end is debatable but it’s an enjoyable and stimulating ride.

This is one of those unassuming little indie US films that are usually a lot better than the dross at the multiplexes.

It’s an intelligent film with a stellar cast, including Julie Christie, Nick Nolte, Chris Cooper and many more great names.