Dir. Lone Scherfig 95mins,
Grand Cinemas, Thur 3

Journalist Lynn Barber’s spiky memoir of striking up a relationship with an older man in early 1960s west London has been turned into an accessible comedy romance. It’s true that Barber, in her book, saw more absurdity than seediness in her youthful engagement to a criminal Jack the Lad at the same time as she was preparing to apply to Oxford from her Twickenham grammar school. But Hornby softens the edges further so that David (Peter Sarsgaard), her flashy suitor, is more charming than predatory, more vulnerable than cunning.

Luckily, Danish director Scherfig and star Mulligan give the film considerable weight by surrounding this lightly played, strange romance with an acute understanding of Barber’s endearing screen alter ego, Jenny (Mulligan). As Jenny, Mulligan is simply excellent, the perfect mix of naivety and maturity beyond her character’s years. She has a strong but down-to-earth beauty which alone does much to compensate for some of the film’s less convincing, broader moments