The actor is outstanding as an English widow uncovering her husband’s secret existence in FranceThe debut feature from English-Pakistani film-maker Aleem Khan is a tale of secrets and lies, a portrait of people caught between identities and cultures.
At its heart is a constrained yet wonderfully expressive performance by the versatile Joanna Scanlan, best known to some for her comedic work in shows such as Getting On and The Thick of It, here offering a masterclass in the dramatic power of understatement.Scanlan is Mary, a white, English Muslim who converted many years ago to marry Ahmed (Nasser Memarzia), with whom she lives near the Dover cliffs.
Ahmed’s work takes him back and forth across the Channel to Calais and Mary regularly stands on the cliffs, waving at his ship “like a mad woman”.
But when Ahmed dies suddenly, Mary discovers that the husband she thought she
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