The Fold (15)

Directed by John Jencks

2 Stars

A grieving Anglican priest befriends a young immigrant worker who reminds her of her dead daughter in this British drama about loss, grief and misguided good intentions.

Catherine McCormack plays Rebecca Ashton, who moves to Cornwall with her youngest daughter Eloise (Dakota Blue Richards) to come to terms with the death of her eldest child who was found at the bottom of a swimming pool 11 months earlier.

There she meets the Bulgarian girl Radka (Marina Stoimenova), whom she is compelled to mother but whose jealous and volatile nature puts Ashton and her family in danger.

It is an old premise with a new twist but the fact Ashton is a priest seems somewhat wasted. It isn't clear too why her daughter killed herself or why her husband, who comes to visit her periodically, didn't move down with her.

Gymnast turned actress Stoimenova cannot hold her own with McCormack who is effortlessly compelling in every scene.

It is a beautifully shot film in which Cornwall looks stunning but this isn't enough to detract from the laboured dialogue or the implication that Bulgarian immigrants are dangerous and enjoy nothing better than a singsong around a camp fire.

Maria Duarte