Directed by Matt Winn, who co-wrote the screenplay with James Handel, The Trouble with Jessica is a very British dark comedy-drama, with an essence more on the drama – alongside quite the number of whip-smart remarks that (in our UK setups) would easily slide into the conversation at an upper-middle-class dinner party and, yes, that class system is important in this particular context.

Setting us up to meet Sarah (Shirley Henderson) and Tom (Alan Tudyk), who are in financial trouble but not wanting to admit it to those other people in their lives, decide to sell their super-stylish London abode to stop the rot. With a possible sale getting closer, they also host a dinner party to say goodbye to the house, and while Richard (Richard Sewell) and Beth (Olivia Williams) are asked to come along, there’s an uninvited guest as well: Jessica (Indira Varma).

Establishing the scene in a big London house, the focused dinner party format (with occasional visitors from the outside world coming in) lays itself to a film that’d translate easily to the stage, and that’s the vibe I mostly felt from Winn’s film – which isn’t a bad thing, I hasten to add. While I won’t give the specific ‘big moment’ away, even though the trailer does *spoilers!*, The Trouble with Jessica gives it characters centre stage and beneath the entertaining central story, this is a voyeuristic insight that’s a comment on the upper middle classes, and I can say that from first-hand experience of similar worlds. Within this, it contains strong performances that delicately balances the reality line with genuine hits of seriousness alongside the facial and otherwise outrageous situation.

Packed with big arguments, vicious viewpoints, and personality assassinations, those initial bouts are leading up to a tragic event which questions the ethical implications of their individual choices, and given the front of each character we meet… who will fall first, when it comes to wanting to save themselves? Surely, they’re clever enough to survive the catastrophic outcome they see directly before them – aren’t they?

The Trouble with Jessica gives every actor the chance to revel in their character’s troubled minds, with Henderson, Sewell and Varma particularly standing out. But this is also an observation on society, and the misshapen moral compass of some (not all) people with money and the things they might well consider to save themselves first, above all. But there’s also a lot of fun here, amongst the obscure rants and entertaining momentary pauses. And then, as the truth of the situation unravels, we get to see if they live the life they’ve chosen, and also can’t stand the heat of the situation.

Here, Director Winn sets up a question of people. Of whom we are. Of the lies we choose to believe, and the masks many of us make, and those people we might become. It’s a darkly British dramedy, curious, macabre, and a little messed-up. After all, there’s two sides to every friendship demise. Right?

The Trouble with Jessica is released in UK and Irish cinemas from 5^th April www.jessicafilm.co.uk