Laura Fraser returns with a dark tale that will drive you Cuckoo

Dreaming spires and punting on the Cam were two things I pretty much ignored last week as I took a trip down to Cambridge for their 29th Film Festival.

As someone more used to the larger scale Edinburgh Film Festival, the compact and friendly Cambridge event was a breath of fresh air.

The main reason for my visit was to attend the premiere of new British feature film Cuckoo, starring one of Scotland's finest actresses, Laura Fraser, alongside Richard E Grant and Tamsin Greig.

The film introduces us to Polly (Fraser), a researcher in a cardiology department whose work and personal lives are causing her stress. As Polly tries to plan her future, away from her musician boyfriend (Adam Fenton) who stays out most nights, she begins to hear things in her flat.

Though her sister Jimi (Antonia Bernath) seems oblivious to the sounds, she brings the situation to the attention of Polly's obsessed boss, Professor Greengrass (Grant) who uncovers dark secrets which could soon change all their lives forever.

Dark and brooding in both colour palette and script – writer/director Richard Bracewell gives his locations and interiors as many shades of gray as the characters that inhabit them – Cuckoo is an intelligent drama which kept me guessing right up until the closing moments.

I also caught US gaming documentary Frag, focusing on the rise of the celebrity computer gamer in America. While I'm no games fan (though I do still have an N64 somewhere in the cupboard) it was fascinating to see and hear what really goes on behind the scenes and how money and sponsorship has both saved and damaged the young players involved.

My final screening of the weekend was Easier with Practice, a small American film starring Brian Geraghty and Kel O'Neill as Davy and Sam, two brothers touring small town USA to promote Davy's book of short stories.

One night while stopping at a small Motel, Davy picks up a random telephone call to his room from an unknown woman which leads to the pair starting a relationship based solely on the sounds of their voices.

Very funny and thought provoking (though not for the squeamish), Geraghty is a superb leading man who gives Davy a number of aspects to his personality. It might be painful to watch at times, but this is still a memorable piece of work.

This article first appeared in the Edinburgh Evening News on Friday 2 October.