An aspiring novelist falls in love with a Ukrainian cleaner whilst his best friend attempts to rekindle his romance with a social climbing sex bomb.
Would-be novelist Rodolfo (Matthew McKinney) is hanging out with his painter flatmate Marcello (Benson Wilson), when joined by their loud friends Shaunard (Mark Nathan) and Colline (Edward Jowle) on their way to the pub. Rodolfo, however, stays behind and meets Ukrainian neighbour Mimi (Lucy Hall). This version of ‘La Bohème’, set in modern east London, uses the camera adeptly to create a sense of intimacy and naturalism. Norton-Hale’s version is both more faithful to Puccini’s original 1890s work and yet seems less dated than ‘Rent’, the 1990s stage musical from the same source material, set among Lower East Side artists in New York.
UK 2026 Robin Norton-Hale 106m
