POIGNANT, well-observed, gentle - and drab. Three ingredients that pitch this directorial debut by Alan Rickman firmly into grandmother territory, and a fourth that will quickly consign it thereafter to the dustbin of mediocrity.

The setting is small seaside town during a freezing winter. The story - what there is of one - concentrates on the relationship between a middle aged woman who has lost her husband and her ageing Scottish mother. The freeze has turned the sea into an ice rink for as far as the eye can see. It conveniently provides a visual metaphor for whatever this film is about: death, one supposes, or bereavement.

But whether you are a grandmother or not, this film can only be recommended to those with a high tolerance level for Emma Thompson's acting: the little frowns and level looks, the conspicuous emotional displays that reek of self-awareness, in fact the whole gamut of familiar tricks that plant her luvvie trademark on every character she has ever played are here on gory display. If we can banish Thompson temporarily from the mind, there are some promising performances from the young members of the cast, and also from Phyllida Law who plays the slightly barmy mother and must also take the blame for giving birth to Thompson in real life.

Based on a stageplay by Sharman Macdonald (where are the young writers?), this movie is a prime example of the kind of script that gets selected by those moribund arbiters of movie production north of the border: the Scottish Arts Council National Lottery Fund Board, or whatever the hell they call themselves. "The Winter Guest" is safe, it is solid, and it should have been left alone as a perfectly unremarkable piece of theatre.