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A fine example of micro-budget indigenous film-making, Ruby Blue sees director Jan Dunn build on the success of 2006's Gypo with another low-key story set on the Kent coast. Dispensing with that flick's Dogme 95 trappings, Ruby tells of a pigeon-racing widower (Hoskins) whose budding romance with his new French neighbour (Balasko) is imperiled when his relationship with a young girl (Jessica Stewart) is misconstrued. Modest, thoughtful and gently humorous, it's a homegrown gem that's worth seeking out.

Dunn's blend of the scripted and the improvised inevitably invites comparisons with Mike Leigh, as does her focus on what she has called "the harsh reality of lower-class suburban isolation." In reality, though, Ruby is far more tightly scripted than Leigh's oeuvre, revolving as it does around one key revelation and a certain amount of rather unlikely contrivance. It also feels noticeably less caricatured, although that is as much down to Hoskins and Balasko's well-rounded and heartfelt performances as it is to the director's pensive and compassionate screenplay.

"POIGNANT CHARACTER STUDY"

Okay, so the slightly dour visuals won't make you put Thanet on your list of potential vacation spots, while the ending feels a little too neat and cosy given all the trials that Hoskins' character is forced to endure. On the whole, though, this poignant character study is a real find that deserves a much wider release than the small arthouse roll-out its producers have assembled. Kudos, too, to KT Tunstall for giving the project a pair of tracks for its opening and closing titles.

Ruby Blue is out in the UK on 25th April 2008.