Sacha Polak and Vicky Knight’s last film together, Dirty God (2019), was certainly a personal project, but this one may be even more so, as Knight plays a version of herself: a nurse tormented by the fire that gave her severe burns.

The rest of the film is fictitious, as Franky begins a relationship with a troubled patient (Esmé Creed-Miles) and finds the kind of support and friendship in Florence’s grandmother that her own alcoholic mom is unable to provide.

Convincing performances in a drama that finds moments of beauty and warmth in a working-class life stacked with challenges.

2023-U.K.-The Netherlands. 103 min. Color. Widescreen. Written and directed by Sacha Polak. Cast: Vicky Knight (Franky), Esmé Creed-Miles (Florence), Charlotte Knight (Leah), Archie Brigden, Angela Bruce, Alfie Deegan.  

Trivia: Franky’s younger sister is played by Knight’s real-life sister Charlotte.