Yes

YES is the story of a passionate love affair between an American woman (Joan Allen) and a Middle-Eastern man (Simon Abkarian) in which they confront some of the greatest conflicts of our generation - religious, political and sexual. Sam Neill plays the betrayed and betraying politician husband and Shirley Henderson a philosophical cleaner who witnesses the trail of dirt and heartbreak the lovers leave behind them, as they embark on a journey that takes them from London and Belfast to Beirut and Havana.

Yes is one of Sally Potter’s most accessible and agreeable films providing both substance and an entertaining focus on a married couple going through the process of falling out of love with each other and the paths they then take.

What marks it out especially is that Potter has chosen to have the script delivered in iambic verse (rather like continual rhyming couplets) and Shirley Henderson enjoys a deliciously subversive cameo role as the all-knowing cleaner even if her pet hate is simply a fight against grime. Joan Allen picks up where she left off in The Ice Storm – she plays a woman scorned in a marriage particularly well and Sam Neill does all that he has to do in a role that merely requires him to be disinterested in his wife. Its left then to Simon Abkarian and the aforementioned Allen to act up the affair that is the main focus point in the film.

An enjoyable and bravely ambitious study of a marital affair and its effects on those involved with the highly watchable Joan Allen making the most of a decent lead role. It won’t be for everyone but will suit those that like a film to be both entertaining but also to have thought behind it.

Matt Arnoldi