Breakfast with Jonny Wilkinson

When the top-billed name in a cast list is Norman Pace (of 'Hale and...' fame), you know you're not watching an A-list film. But 'Breakfast with Jonny Wilkinson' is the kind of production I think the British film industry excels at: small, character-driven comedy-dramas that are quintessentially - well, British - during which you can enjoy spotting people more familiar from the television screen (in this case, alumni of 'The Bill', 'Poirot' and 'Casualty', among others). The big-budget stuff we can leave to Hollywood.

Written by cast member Chris England, this is set during the Rugby Union World Cup final (England v Australia) of 2003. A group of rugby club members gather in their suburban clubhouse to watch the action from Sydney on the big screen, but secrets and lies threaten to derail the occasion. Why haven't more of the members turned up? Just how far will the club's Australian member go to become club chairman? How bad is the current chairman's health, actually? How embarrassing is it that, with five male teams, it's only the club's sole female team that have ever actually won anything? How sleazy is the journalist who turns up? And can it really be true that the club's young star player has a telepathic link with the titular England wing? With just three sets - the club bar, the pitch and the changing room - and only seven characters, this film's origins as a stage play are very evident. And it's not hugely original. But it's a warm-hearted production, with engaging if largely one-dimensional characters (a scene where they all, including the women, imagine themselves clad in England strip taking part in the last few minutes of the final's play will resonate with many viewers, I'm sure). In short, a very enjoyable, feel-good film, even for those of us for whom Jonny Wilkinson is the only English rugby player we can actually name...

In years to come this film will be best known as a footnote in the early career of George Mackay's filmography but it deserves to be much more widely known, in its own right. Quirky, well written, low key and very British, the film takes place against the backdrop of "that drop kick" in November 2003, and beautifully captures the feel (and politics) of a local rugby club on the most important day in English rugby in 50 years. When written and filmed, 10 years after the event, the raw emotion of that day had already faded, hence I suspect the viewing figures and reception being somewhat muted. But as a low budget paean of affection for amateur sport, and the ever-passive-aggressive politics of amateur sport club committees, it works on many levels. Even if you know who won the World Cup final, the tight script still delivers tension, a love story, easy humour and - unexpectedly - one half of Hale and Pace. Overall, it's a real gem, and well worth a watch.