Set in the tiny monarchy of Swaziland, an island surrounded by South Africa and Mozambique, the 11-year-old son of an educator has the unfortunate pleasure of witnessing his mother, Lauren (Miranda Richardson), in a somewhat compromising position with his "uncle" John, a married diplomat.

When Lauren absconds with her lover, both her husband (Gabriel Byrne) and her son are devastated. The son takes solace in boarding school, his father in the bottle.

Fast forward three years and things initially seem even worse to Ralph (now played by Nicholas Hoult).

Recriminations between his parents, who are now divorced, have only escalated. And his dad has married a brassy American named Ruby (Emily Watson).

Ralph gets over his initial first impression to grow fond of Ruby, who treats him as a friend and refuses to emulate all the stuffed-shirt mannerisms of the colonial Brits.

She makes fun of their kooky utterances such as "toodle-pip" and "hobbly-jobbly," calling it so much "wah-wah."

Ruby becomes his best ally against the madness - of which plenty more is to come.

Grant's unblinking but sympathetic depiction of this emotionally unhinged world makes the viewer feel like an illicit, enlightened gawker.

He works skillfully with a terrific ensemble and chooses not to gloss over the wounds he endured at the hands of his hair-raisingly ill-equipped parents, who were clearly enough to make an artist out of anyone.

Vickie Juett