Director: Hong Khaou

Starring: Ben Whishaw, Morven Christie, Peter Bowles

Cert 15; 86 mins

Modest British feature Lilting provides glowing proof that you do not need a big budget to make a good film. They probably spent more on cigars for the cast of The Expendables than they did on this thoughtful, touching tale of love and loss.

The sensitivity of the screenplay by Hong Khaou and the finely judged performances from Ben Whishaw and Cheng Pei Pei all add to the feel of a beautifully made, miniaturist drama.

Richard (Whishaw) is struggling to come to terms with the tragic death of his boyfriend Kai (Andrew Leung) and his sense of responsibility to Kai’s mother Junn (Pei Pei) who lives in a retirement home.

Junn never knew that Kai was gay and chooses to believe that Richard was just a good friend. She also has a poor command of English. In order to build bridges, Richard hires an interpreter to encourage the relationship between Junn and fellow resident Alan (Peter Bowles).

Lilting is a film of unspoken longing and raw emotion in which Richard and Junn engage in a delicate waltz around truths that are difficult to articulate and impossible to confront.

It is slightly stilted in places but Whishaw’s portrait of a man cast adrift in the confusion of grief is outstanding.