This is a small British film from 1989 and I guess you could say that it has some similarities to The Graduate (The coming-of-age of an awkward young man, his first romantic experience being an indiscretion with an older married woman he does not end up with, the general state of being a satire about its place and time), but this film is warmer, gentler, more humane, and more charming than The Graduate was.
The story involves a young man in his early 30s (Jesse Birdsall) who , aside from working in a hair salon, has not forged anything of an independent life due to fears of making mistakes. He is still tied to his cantankerous parents and has not been in an actual relationship. This changes very quickly after attending a party where he bonds with the hostess (Lynn Redgrave), a deeply unhappy woman who puts on airs, but who is really frightfully lonely, and he also meets a young titled lady with punkish tendencies (Helena Bonham Carter). But maybe perhaps, neither of these women is the answer to his quest, but rather the answer is his good hearted, plain-Jane coworker (Jane Horrocks).
The story might play out like many other films made before or since, but they rarely come with such delicacy of tone, wit, and charm, and much of that credit goes to the finely attuned script which brings back memories of some British films of the 60s. The film also provides some cameos for some familiar faces: Pat Heywood (the nurse from 1968's Romeo and Juliet), John Gielgud, Judy Parfitt, Shirley Ann Field, and Peter Cook. And the whole thing is topped off with a title song by Dusty Springfield.
