Skeletons (d. Nick Whitfield, UK 2010).

This is the film that Christopher Nolan nicked the idea for Inception from, it seems!* The difference is, it is utterly intelligent, doesn't treat its viewers like dimwits, and has a sharp comedic edge that belies its generous spirit and thought-provoking nature.

The "skeletons" of the title are those found in closets, and the film does a neat job of unpacking human desires and relationships without losing sight of narrative coherence and the fact that it's a film. The writer-director, Nick Whitfield, along with the editor, Rachel Tunnard, appeared at a Q&A session after tonight's screening of the film at Sheffield's Showroom, and it was clear why the film is such a success: more interested in the complexities of everyday human life than showing how clever they are, and with a desire to work with the camera rather than with SFX, the pair answered questions in a genuine, often entertainingly deadpan manner, and revealed much of the thoughtfulness that's gone into making this film.

The film's central duo are blokes - the comedy double act, Andrew Buckley and Ed Gaughan - and the women in the film play roles of wives and daughters. But they are real people - all of them - and Jane (played by the remarkable Paprika Steen, of Festen "fame") is a "crazy lady" who for me is a fabulous antithesis of (and antidote to) female characters like that of Mal in Inception. Her eccentricity is real, but also understandable, as is her response to it - not melodramatic, and not sexualised. The relationships between the characters, too, show much more depth and variety than those displayed in so many films - never reverting to boy-meets-girl shmultz or even typical, uninteresting patterns. This is all the more remarkable given that the film does, as the director freely admits, have a "neat ending" and ties things up in a way that even Hollywood might allow. (Indeed, the film's been a hit with US film festival audiences.) But what is so refreshing is its avoidance of cliche and stereotypically lazy ploys to achieve that almost happy ending. Instead, despite the fantastic premise and sense of other-worldliness that pervades the film, it achieves an eerily realistic portrayal of a bunch of vaguely surreal but weirdly engaging people, and manages to avoid stereotyping or typically problematic representations of gender (as well as class, among other things), while not being blind to gender issues such as being a wife, and how defining that can - but does not have to - be.

And as I read through what I've written, I realise that not only is Steen's Jane something of an antodote to the femme fatale of Inception and elsewhere, but so is the younger female protagonist of Skeletons - Jane's daughter, Rebecca - something of an antidote to the tiny, very-young-looking Ariadne in Inception. (Rebecca's played by Tuppence Middleton, and yes that's really her name). A young adult who looks her age - pretty and sexy without being infantalised and over-sexualised - Rebecca's role is one of the most interesting for a young woman in film I've seen in a long time. Again, it doesn't deny the social realities of what shapes women-as-daughters and their place in/relationship to the world around them (especially men), but it problematises it and ends at a quite positive place - again, without recourse to romance or melodrama, thank goodness!

It's hard to write too much more about this film without using spoilers affecting both it and Inception, so they might be best revisited after more people've had a chance to see them. And I really would recommend you see Skeletons. It's brilliantly made, highly enjoyable, really very funny as well as with its own degree of pathos, and has some excellent acting, too - with Jason Isaacs in a great role, too, that I'd not previously mentioned. (Interesting, too, is the way his role as "the Colonel" has a similar aspect to it - but less harsh - as that of West and his men in 28 Days Later, as it happens..!). Anyway, go see it. It's just lovely!

Here's a link to the trailer: http://www.skeletonsthemovie.com/videos/  (at the film's official site: http://www.skeletonsthemovie.com/)

*The core idea of Skeletons - very similar to that of Inception - was contained in two of Whitfield's short films, also starring Buckley and Gaughan...