The never-not-awesome Olivia Colman stars alongside newcomer Charlie Reid in this road-trippy seriocomedy about an Irish woman looking to give up her newborn baby but who, instead, crosses paths with a young boy and forms a heartfelt bond. It’s a warm and tender (and occasionally tear-jerky) coming-of-age tale that sucks you right in from the start without ever going the saccharine route. Colman, of course, could make a reading of the telephone book seem like compelling theater, but her authentic partnership with the delightful Reid lifts the film and makes it one of the year’s more memorable sleepers.
4/5 stars