Acclaimed short-film director Andrea Arnold's second feature - which won a Bafta for outstanding British film and the Jury Prize at Cannes - is a quietly searing drama about the directionless life of an underprivileged teenage girl on an Essex council estate. Mia (Katie Jarvis) finds escape from a claustrophobic home life with her single mother and younger sister through drink and dancing. The arrival of her mother's new boyfriend, the sexy and attentive Connor (Michael Fassbender), puts new pressures on the already unravelling family unit as Mia is drawn to the sympathetic outsider. Arnold's direction is sure-footed, creating an honest, intelligent and memorable documentary-style drama that, although grim and overlong, doesn't flinch from hard truths. Outstanding performances from every member of the cast - in particular, newcomer Jarvis who was "discovered" on a station platform while arguing with her boyfriend - and Robbie Ryan's beautiful cinematography make this subtle, shocking and redemptive tale a rewarding slice of cinematic reality.

Fifteen-year-old Mia is in a constant state of war with her family and the world around her. When she meets her party-girl mother’s charming new boyfriend Connor, she is amazed to find he returns her attention, and believes he might help her start to make sense of her life.