David Farnor | On 10, Aug 2014

Director: Dana Lustig
Cast: Dougray Scott, Jodie Whittaker, David Warner
Certificate:
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“And sometimes when the night is slow, the wretched and the meek, we gather up our hearts and go a thousand kisses deep.”

There’s nothing like a bit of Leonard Cohen to put you in the mood for some doomed romance. But Dana Lustig’s drama is a bit more than that. Following the attempts of Mia (Jodie Whittaker) to untangle her relationship with Ludwig (Dougray Scott) from her troubled past, A Thousand Kisses Deep plays like a cross between psychoanalysis and Doctor Who. With Dougray Scott playing the trumpet. And David Warner playing The Doctor.

Arriving home at her flat to find an old woman fling herself from the top floor, Mia is prompted to look back at her own life, which was tainted a long time ago by a trampy trumpet player with a womanising streak. And so she hops into the lift, old janitor David Warner flips the switch, and down she sinks into her past.

The ensuing chaos is a heady mix of memories and hatred. Facing off against each other with real emotional chemistry, the ever-likeable Whittaker and seductive Dougray Scott make a right mess of each other’s lives, messing up marriages and more along the way. (One particular scene at a birthday party is amusingly awkward.) Whittaker impressively portrays herself at several ages, repeatedly succumbing to Scott’s timeless, menacing charm.

The story may not amount to much and the twists are on the obvious side, but Lustig’s steamy atmosphere and seedy locations give everything a cinematic sheen that chimes with the moody jazz soundtrack. And through it all, Dougray Scott plays the trumpet as well as Guy Barker (hint: look at the musicians in the end credits).

An odd blend of Freud, jazz and time travel, A Thousand Kisses Deep is a slight but engrossing trip through one person’s saddened psyche. Like Leonard Cohen’s titular poem, it’s painful, engaging and intriguing stuff.

A Thousand Kisses Deep is available to watch online on Amazon Prime Video as part of a Prime membership or a £5.99 monthly subscription.

 

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