JUNIPER TBC

★★★☆☆ OUT 23 SEPT CINEMAS

With shades of Hal, New Zealand director Matthew J. Saville’s debut feature explores the relationship between suicidal teenager Sam (George Ferrier), grieving for the recent loss of his mother, and his grandmother Ruth (Charlotte Rampling). Alcoholic and acid-tongued, Ruth is a former war photographer whose broken leg confines her to a wheelchair. Set against a verdant North Island backdrop, the drama offers few narrative surprises, but Rampling is typically impressive at conveying a confrontational character’s mixture of steeliness and emotional vulnerability.