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Joe Scot (Daniel Craig) is a washed-up Hollywood movie-star, his life a reckless whirl of sex, drugs and booze. News of the sudden death of his childhood best friend sends him and us spiralling back to what proves to be the pivotal last summer of his youth in idyllic early Seventies coastal Britain. With style to burn, Flashbacks Of A Fool hits telling dramatic heights, but suffers from aching lulls and a lack of sympathy for the lead.

The nearest he has to a friend in Hollywood is his housekeeper (rapper Eve), but back in their day, Joe (played in flashback by Harry Eden) and Boots (the impressive Max Deacon) were inseparable. Boots, David Bowie and Bryan Ferry aside, Joe's life is defined by women – his female-only home life given no end of complication by the attentions of his first love Ruth (the show-stealing Felicity Jones), who introduces him to literature, glam-rock and make-up, and Evelyn (Jodhi May) the minxy housewife-next-door whose infatuated seduction of Joe triggers the twin tragedies that set him running on his path to stardom.

"A HOLLOWNESS AT THE HEART OF THE FILM"

Bewildered by testosterone, then booze, and then regret, there is little beyond his looks to compel about Joe, leaving a hollowness at the heart of the film. Despite the skilful and evocative photography, the strong cast seem to misfire against the imbalanced structure and clashing styles, and with Craig having so much fun in the present day – and yes, nakedness is on the menu, girls – the shift to seaside nostalgia and the good-but-not-as-good Harry Eden in the starring role both jars and outstays its welcome.

Flashbacks Of A Fool is out in the UK on 18th April 2008.