Love is Strange (15, 94 mins)

Director: Ira Sachs

3 stars

A pair of veteran actors shine in this occasionally charming but too often lightweight drama. John Lithgow and Alfred Molina play a couple who have been together for almost 40 years, and are just getting married as we join them here.

They inhabit an extended world full of caring and loving, and the support of family and friends, but things begin to turn sour when Molina's George is made redundant from his teaching job at a church-run school.

Although the question is briefly raised, there's no subsequent exploration of whether this was because he's entered into a gay marriage, an early sign that director and co-writer Ira Sachs isn't especially interested in exploring typical dramatic situations.

Anyway, the result of George's dismissal is that he and Lithgow's Ben can no longer afford their New York apartment and so reach out to family and friends for temporary places to stay while they find somewhere else.

Ben moves in with his niece (Marisa Tomei) and her family, quickly finding himself in the way of both her and her teenage son. So far, so insubstantial and domestic, but after a while the worry starts to grow that there's actually very little going on here dramatically.

The set-up doesn't really extend beyond that of a sitcom, where characters are thrown into odd couple situations or get in each other's way.

A lot of the time it's Modern Family with the laughs taken out.

George goes to live with a relative where there's always a party going on or loud music playing, disrupting his need for peace and quiet, but not really offering us anything to get our teeth into.

Meanwhile Tomei and her husband don't get to see enough of each other, while their son is having some troubles at school, so we dragged in to their problems and squabbles too. Perhaps the reason we're dealing in so many subplots is that George and Ben are separated for much of the film, which doesn't help since their warmth is a big part of what makes Love Is Strange work.

The performances are beautifully understated, which works very well for the situation, with never any need to resort to histrionics. But when that low key approach extends to the content as well, you may have to start wondering what the point is and whether a little oomph now and again wouldn't be out of place.

Still, where it absolutely works is in the characters and relationship of George and Ben and the wonderful acting done by Molina and Lithgow. Nicely observed details of the intimacies and trivia of a long term partnership are the film's bread and butter, and every moment they're together is a joy.

But when they're apart it can be very thin stew indeed if we're supposed to take dramatic interest in this. See Love Is Strange for some wonderful, unassuming turns from some terrific actors, but don't expect anything life-changing when it comes to content. There's subtle and then sometimes there's just plain boring.

See it if you liked: Married Life, Pride, Lilting

Two Night Stand (15, 84 mins)

Director: Max Nichols

3 stars

Following a one-night hook-up, twentysomethings Megan (Analeigh Tipton) and Alec (Miles Teller) are forced to spend more time together than they had planned when a blizzard traps them inside Alec's apartment.

This set-up offers a nice departure from rom-com norms for a good portion of its pleasingly short runtime, and the two leads are more likeable than we've seen in a lot of these recent movies.

There's a refreshing honesty and vulnerability to the characters and even a few legitimate laughs, and although it's still compelled to revert to the obstacle structure demanded by the genre, it's able to find credible ways to overcome them.

See it if you liked: That Awkward Moment, What If, Friends With Benefits

Coherence (15, 88 mins)

Director: James Ward Byrkit

3 stars

A group of friends who have gathered for a dinner party begin to experience strange goings on during the passing of a comet in this intriguing but not entirely successful low budget sci-fi thriller.

What begins as a normal evening turns increasingly dark and dangerous as power cuts force them to explore the neighbourhood where they encounter what might be parallel dimensions and multiple versions of themselves.

Some of the characters irritate, although the performances are generally decent, and Coherence gets by on strong atmosphere and several good ideas.

However, like many such time travel affairs, it's very much in love with its conceit, sometimes at the expense of forward motion and well, coherence. The result is that it can occasionally veer towards repetition and the danger of mistaking unexplained for profound.

See it if you liked: Triangle, Timecrimes, Another Earth

The Philadelphia Story (U, 110 mins)

Director: George Cukor

4 stars

Can there have been many times that a greater collection of talent was brought together on film than for this delightful 1940 comedy which gets a cinema re-release courtesy of the BFI?

Katherine Hepburn is the wealthy Philadelphia socialite about to marry a steady dullard, Cary Grant is her ex-husband who turns up to cause mischief and James Stewart picked up his only Academy Award as the reporter sent to cover the wedding for a gossip mag.

The sparkling script also won an Oscar, as the three stars get to show off their incomparable comic skills in snarky, fast-talking style throughout this snappy, deliciously boozy treat.