Having met at Leicester Music College in 1998 and formed early last year, The Havenots are Sophia Marshall and Liam Dullingham, two young pups (20 and 22) whose smoke-weary delivery belies their tender years. Informed by Gram/Emmylou, Gillian Welch/David Rawlings and Uncle Tupelo, this is gentle smoulder for the most part, all languid, punt-down-the-river melodies and mountain-air acoustic guitars (courtesy of Samuel Harvey).
Riffing on early David Mamet or Neil LaBute, writer-director Patrick Stettner's superb three-hander anatomises the airless, amoral culture of top-rank executives. In a faceless airport hotel, high-flyer Stockard Channing plays sadistic sex-and-power games with young business rival Julia Stiles and corporate headhunter Frederick Weller. Sharp, astringent, and proof that complex ideas and strong performances transcend even minimal budgets.
