Wish You Were Here

In a staid English seaside town after the war, Lynda grows up with her widowed father and younger sister. From an early age she uses swearing as a weapon. At sixteen the weapon becomes her sexuality, and a quiet war starts between Lynda and the town's repressed morality. It is David Leland's first film as director. The screenplay draws on the adolescence of British madam Cynthia Payne, though the film never makes the connection. Leland interviewed Payne over several years, then said he stored up the details and set them aside in favour of fiction. He also wrote Personal Services, released the same year and directed by Terry Jones, which covers Payne's adult life. Emily Lloyd holds the whole thing up. Her performance refuses shame outright, and refuses to make the character a victim. Who it's for: Viewers who like 1980s British cinema, female-led coming-of-age stories, and sharp-tongued characters. Who it's not for: The film's handling of abuse and early sexual experience is uncomfortable, and the comic register sitting next to that material will not work for everyone.