Hectic is not the word.

If action sequences in Michael Bay films give you cause to reach for the sick bag then maybe its best to give this a wide berth.

On the other hand if you’re looking for something a little different then this could well be the light at the end of the tunnel.

Set across one barnstorming week leading up to 2004’s US elections, this is a pitch black comedy that delves deep into the plots, feuds and backbiting of a typical downmarket tabloid office.

At its centre is The Rag’s charismatic editor Eddy (Rupert Graves) whose ambitions towards moral bankruptcy lead to adultery with the wife of the paper’s despot chairman (Malcolm McDowell).

It's a situation which soon turns sour leaving Eddy and his motley crew of muck rakers and over-qualified ambulance chasers just one week to save their jobs and preserve order.

This is definitely not a movie for everyone. The frenetic camera and editing style is likely to cause motion sickness in some and just plain annoyance in others.

What does work though is the way this is married to the improvisational nature of both action and dialogue – the script was ostensibly made up on the spot.

When coupled with the chaotic nature of both subject matter and characters the package seems to fit neatly together to form a whole that, while challenging, is ultimately well worth the effort.

But then this might just end up being the film’s major flaw. Will the subject matter be sufficient to overcome those put off by the style?

And at the other end of the scale is an audience that readily accepts this kinetic approach to filmmaking at all concerned with the subtleties of British tabloid life?

There is a danger that it could struggle to exist between such narrow confinements.

Tim Postins