Una (2 Stars)

When she was 13, Una had an affair with Ray, a man in his late thirties, a friend of her father's. She planned to run away with him, but due to a misunderstanding she thought he'd backed out, and she admitted everything to her parents. The police came, Ray was convicted as a paedophile, and he spent four years in prison. Now it's fifteen years later. Despite having been told for years that Ray is a bad man, she makes contact with him. She still loves him. Ray has moved on, Una hasn't.

The film has a lot of interesting ideas. It's not judgemental about the relationship with a young girl. It happened. In some societies it would have been acceptable, but not in modern day England. Ray isn't a predator, he was just caught up in something beyond his control. He'd never been attracted to young girls in the past, it was all about Una winning his heart.

Despite all the interesting ideas, this is a poorly made film. If you don't already know what the film is about (from watching the trailer or reading the first paragraph of this post), you'll have no idea what's happening for the first 15 minutes. The film jumps backwards and forwards from 13-year-old Una to 28-year-old Una, and it's not even obvious that they're the same person.

The film isn't very satisfying. Una wants Ray back in her life, but he resists her. It took me an hour of the film to overcome my aversion to the mixed age relationship, and just when I was hoping that Una's love would triumph, it all came crashing down. The acting by the main characters is outstanding, but the film leaves a sour taste.

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