WOMEN TALKING DIRTY (15) _ 3 out of 5

Gentlemen, do not get too excited. This film is not what you think, writes Andrew Richards.

It's less women talking dirty and more Helena Bonham Carter talking in a bad Scottish accent. In fact, there's not really any dirty talk at all.

The story is based around two friends, Ellen (Gina McKee of Our Friends in the North fame), a cartoonist, and her cartoonish best friend Cora (Bonham Carter).

The pair meet by chance over a pint and their friendship develops over the years despite a dark secret Cora is keeping from Ellen although she has no qualms at all about blabbing it to every single one of their mutual friends.

Despite a strong cast, the story doesn't really gel. It's foundation the friendship between Cora and Ellen is pretty shaky in itself as it doesn't really show how these two very different characters friendship developed.

It's also really hard to understand why Ellen's gambling addict husband Daniel (James Purefoy) is causing her so much heartache, as he's so awful you can't see why she married him in the first place, never mind why she misses him once he's gone.

McKee is convincing as Ellen, and the peripheral characters are entertaining particularly Emily Boyle as Cora's neighbour Eileen.

But Cora is just too unbelievable a character to sit comfortably in this film, which is not as funny, nor as touching, as it would like to be.

December 13, 2001 16:00