The Trouble with Jessica

In cinemas now

There is a touch of An Inspector Calls about Matt Winn’s social satire. The Trouble with Jessica, co-written by Winn with James Handel, sees Shirley Henderson and Alan Tudyk host one final dinner party in their idyllic North London home, which they are reluctantly selling in order to resolve their self-inflicted financial woes. Their guests are two long-time friends, played by Rufus Sewell and Olivia Williams, and Jessica (Indira Varma), an errant acquaintance who soon turns the evening on its head by committing suicide in their garden.

What ensues is a slapdash attempt to conceal the body from a slew of unexpected visitors and then move it to Jessica’s apartment, so that the tragic turn of events does not affect the impending sale of the house. As you might expect, The Trouble with Jessica is a very well acted affair (Henderson and Sewell are particularly entertaining) that expertly parodies British suburbanites, but it frustratingly fails to deliver on an intriguing premise, eventually indulging in one too many twists and leaving you feel unfulfilled and a tad frustrated.

Winn and Handel’s screenplay is also unfortunately light on laughs, which is a crying shame when you consider the comedic talent involved, leaving you wondering whether it might have worked better as the sort of theatre production that it is so clearly indebted to.