Portraits of Dangerous Women starts in a particularly speedy way, in more ways than one. The story begins with Tina (Tara Fitzgerald) driving manically down a country lane after her father, Jon, (Mark Lewis Jones) who is in the passenger seat, asks for a return of a loan he gave her. The fear it brings on in Tina brings on her erratic behaviour. The scene hits its crescendo when a dog runs out in front of the car and Tina accidentally runs it over. Ashley, (Yasmin Monet Prince) claims it's her dog, partly through guilt, Jon and Tina spark up a friendship with her.

The film centres around how they deal with the aftermath of the death of the dog. They make the decision to not go directly to the police. They instead decide to deal with the situation themselves. Initially they seem an odd match, with little in common with each other. However, as the narrative proceeds, they spark up a surprisingly tight bond and become friends.

There is a sense of intrigue that runs through the film, especially that of the character of Ashley. It is unclear for large parts of the film what exactly her motives are. Her character weaves fact and fiction effortlessly, leaving the viewer invested in her narrative. The rest of the characters are a little light on depth. The character development of father and daughter Jon and Tina in the early stages of the film fails to lead to anything interesting for the viewer, and character (Jeany Spark) is particularly a side note within the film.

Unfortunately, the film rarely reaches the excitement of the first ten minutes. It is a slow, plodding drama that does bring plenty of laughs but little in the way of substance. It has the pace of the first episode of a six-part series, giving the audience the false impression that the film will be longer than it is (it is only 90 minutes long).  Whether the director is confident of a sequel and purposely is relaxed about the speed of the narrative is anyone's guess.

From the trailers and press releases this film held some potential with an interesting, intriguing premise. However, it lacks a clear narrative and direction to make it a worthwhile watch. The best storyline is that of Ashley with Yasmin Monet putting in a great performance, her mysterious motives keeping the audience guessing. Although it does provide laughs, the storyline lets it down, and because of this, it may be worth giving this mysterious comedy a miss.

Portraits of Dangerous Women will be released in UK cinemas on 11th October

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