Easier With Practice (15)

Can phone sex with a stranger ever become romantic? The possibility is mooted in Kyle Patrick Alvarez's intriguing drama about intimacy and loneliness.

Brian Geraghty (the quiet one of The Hurt Locker trio) plays Davy, a shy office temp and aspiring writer who goes on the road with his extrovert brother (Kel O'Neill) and finds his short stories underwhelming bookstore audiences right across middle America. One night in a motel Davy takes a random phonecall and finds himself getting hot and heavy on the line with a woman called Nicole, eventually confessing to her that she's the closest to a girlfriend he's ever had. Alvarez overuses long shots for one-on-one conversations, and stretches plausibility to breaking-point. But Geraghty as the awkward, lovelorn soul is outstanding, and the film contrives an absolute doozy of a twist ending.