Alan Rickman makes a very solid professional job of transferring a little-known play by Sharman McDonald to celluloid, by filming it outside in the obviously chilly Scots cold climate - hey, it's called The WINTER Guest! - but otherwise not opening it out in any flashy or obvious way. This keeps it intense and concentrates on the words, which offers two splendid acting opportunities, eagerly grabbed by real-life mother and daughter Phyllida Law and Emma Thompson as fictional parent and child in a remote Scottish fishing village. A talk-fest thrill for theatre buffs and connoisseurs of distinguished acting - we all know how good Emma can be, but Phyllida is a revelation. And it does looks startlingly good, too.

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