Talk about your misleading titles.

Scenes Of A Sexual Nature is a mild-mannered stroll through Hampstead Heath for a bit of eavesdropping on a handful of relationship conversations.

First, here are actors Holly Aird and Andrew Lincoln playing a happily married couple.

They chat in the park. She catches him eyeing a beautiful young woman (Eglantine Rembauville), but he swears it's her copy of L'etranger that drew his attention.

We meet Sophie Okonedo and Nick Sidi in the park, having a vicious argument and then breaking up; we meet the magnificent Eileen Atkins as a widow encountering Benjamin Whitrow; we listen in as Ewan McGregor and Douglas Hodge talk about whether or not they should bring a child into their relationship; we observe Gina McKee and Hugh Bonneville stumble through a blind date.

And then there are Adrian Lester and Catherine Tate discussing their divorce, not to mention Polly Walker and Mark Strong as another sort of romantic couple. There you have it: together, apart, straight, gay, young, old, black, white.

And so on.

Scenes Of A Sexual Nature includes the odd wise insight and some chewy dialogue, but the film format seems contrived and the individual stories don't quite hang together.

What this indie outing has to offer is a very strong cast and lovely performances. Too bad none of the actors gets enough material to become fully three-dimensional. There's lots of talk about love, sex and relationships in Scenes Of A Sexual Nature, but it never really ignites. Oh, well. At least you could bring your old granny along to see it with you.

(This film is rated 14-A)
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