Irina Palm (15)

Reviewed,Anthony Quinn
Thursday 12 June 2008 19:00 EDT
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Marianne Faithfull plays Maggie, a frumpy fiftysomething whose young grandson will die unless the family can raise the money necessary for his op.

So Maggie does what any resourceful gran would do and takes a job at a Soho sex club, where she doles out anonymous hand relief to a queue of eager punters. Soon her name is up in lights – Irina Palm – but the secret of her double life cannot be kept indefinitely from her son (Kevin Bishop) or the prim circle of friends in her commuter-belt village.

Director Sam Garbarski is hobbled by a woeful script, some very uncertain acting and a chorus of behatted biddies who never, ever seem to leave the village post-office. It's a collector's item, all the same – you won't often see dramas in which a Sixties icon-turned-grandmother earns fistfuls of cash by dealing out the best hand shandies in Soho.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in