Skeletons

This is one for those who like their movies with a healthy dose of strange and quirky. The Skeletons in the title refer to those that we keep in cupboards and which the two main characters specialise in extracting in an extended metaphor that becomes not quite literal but close (one of several in the film).

Bennett and Davis are psychic extractors whose own frailies come to light when they are faced with a particularly difficult missing person case. This is ultra-low budget - the special effects stretch to some lights in a wardrobe and possibly a smoke machine and the only recognisable name in the cast is Jason Isaacs (sporting a raspy voice and scar for reasons that are never explained) - but nevertheless first time writer-director Nick Whitfield has produced a charming delight of a film from the opening shot of two men in suits walking across moorland discussing the merits of Rasputin. The performances border on the mannered but that is quite fitting and in creating a slightly different world, the script is explanation-lite, but rather credits its audience with some intelligence. It come across a bit like Beckett jointly directed by Gilliam and Kaufmann.

Overall - 7/10 Intelligently offbeat and gently charming. It won't be to everybody's taste, but if you fancy something a wee bit different, its worth checking out.