Directors: Sally El Hosaini, James Krishna Floyd

Stars: Ben Hardy, Jason Patel

This cross cultural romance feels a little rote but is elevated by impressive lead performances.

Hardy is Luke, a single dad with a five-year-old who works alongside his dad as a mechanic. He has one night stands via Tinder to relieve his loneliness. One night he winds up in a British Asian club in East London where he is transfixed by beautiful dancer Ayesha (Patel). Ayesha is a drag queen (‘My only pronouns are icon and legend’) who keeps her identity a secret from her strict Indian Muslim parents in Manchester. Luke only realises Ayesha’s orientation after they kiss, and he is initially disgusted and brutish toward her.

Ayesha turns up at Luke’s garage workshop asking if can drive her to his night-time performances for rich businessmen. A cash-strapped Luke, who has promised his son visit to Disneyland, accepts. Slowly these two disparate characters, the shy, repressed Luke and the cheeky, brave Ayesha. learn what they have in common, and a relationship develops.

There are echoes of the excellent and richly themed Pakistani film ‘Joyland’ here in the tale of a family man falling for an exotic dancer, and this picture suffers in comparison. Hardy and newcomer Patel generate a real chemistry though, and cinemaphotographer David Raedeker’s rendering of the nocturnal neon Essex locales infuses the couple’s encounters with a real sense of glamour.

Unicorns is released on 5th July 

David Willoughby

Follow David Twitter @DWill_Crackfilm