"And sometimes when the night is slow, the wretched and the meek, we gather up our hearts and go a thousand kisses deep."

There's nothing like a bit of Leonard Cohen to put you in the mood for some doomed romance. But Dana Lustig's drama is a bit more than that. Following the attempts of Mia (Jodie Whittaker) to untangle her relationship with Ludwig (Dougray Scott) from her troubled past, A Thousand Kisses Deep plays like a cross between psychoanalysis and Dr Who. With Dougray Scott playing the trumpet. And David Warner playing Dr Who. 

Arriving home at her flat to find an old woman fling herself from the top floor, Mia is prompted to look back at her own life, which was tainted a long time ago by a trampy trumpet player with a womanising streak. And so she hops into the lift, old janitor David Warner flips the switch, and down she sinks into her past.

The ensuing chaos is heady mix of memories and sex-fuelled hatred. Facing off against ach other with real emotional chemistry, the ever-likeable Whittaker and seductive Dougray Scott make a right mess of each other's lives, screwing up marriages, children and Emilia Fox along the way. (One great scene at a birthday party is amusingly awkward.) Whittaker impressively portrays herself at several ages, repeatedly succumbing to Scott's timeless, menacing charm.

The story may not amount to much and the twists are too obvious, but Lustig's steamy atmosphere and seedy locations give everything a cinematic sheen, boosted by the moody jazz soundtrack. And through it all, Dougray Scott plays the trumpet as well as Guy Barker (hint: look at the musicians in the end credits).

An odd blend of Freud, lust, jazz and time travel, A Thousand Kisses Deep is a fascinating trip through one woman's saddened psyche. Like Leonard Cohen's titular poem, it's painful, engaging and intriguing stuff. 

A Thousand Kisses Deep is showing at the Raindance Film Festival 2011 on Thursday 29th September and Friday 30th September. Book tickets here - or head this way to watch the A Thousand Kisses Deep trailer.