There are some surprises watching the Independent Film Channel (IFC) from satellite. This film begins with a corny background ballad with lyrics that go something like, "What a wonderful thing it would be, if we had the faith in the heart of a child." This is sung in 1950's tenor style with music that reminded me of those whining sentimental Mantovani Strings. I was tempted to turn it off ... but I kept watching.

What developed was a two-character study. One was a girl leaving her Irish family, searching for her boyfriend and growing into a kind of womanhood and maybe even adulthood played by Elaine Cassidy. If you guessed that she was the Felicia, you'd be right on. She meets Hilditch, played by Bob Hoskins, who we quickly learn is a very proper English psychopathic weirdo. You know the whole film is an anachronism when you find out that Hilditch is the catering manager for company that provides gourmet meals for its employees and the cooks and servers all treat him like he's a potentate.

The plot line develops with rising tension ever so slowly, inch by inch, minute by minute, event by event. The controlled presence of this slowly growing tension is in itself an enticing element of the film. In fact, I was so engrossed in the Hoskins character's perpetrated relationship with Felicia that I completely missed the significance of his kitchen cooking sessions with his mother via videotape. My wife pointed this out to me! Duh! Of course! This guy is stuck somewhere back in the 1950's with his mom.

It's a kooky film. If you like the Hollywood serial killer, slasher, homicidal maniac scenarios, this is not for you. Atom Egoyan directed the screenplay, an adaptation of the novel written by William Trevor. He does a nice job of using mental flashbacks for both main characters. And he stages the film so that whether you like it or not you are watching the story progress through a window of past music, dress and proprieties. Nevertheless, the plot grinds forward to one of its inexorable worst-case possible conclusions driven by a sociopath's determination. I will not tell you the conclusion. But I will say that both Hoskins and Cassidy are completely convincing in their parts.

2003-01-06