Wondrous oblivion

David Wiseman (Sam Smith) loves cricket; sadly, cricket doesn't return his affection. Relegated to scorer thanks to his prodigious lack of talent, the 11-year-old son of Jewish immigrants takes refuge in an oblivion that isn't really wondrous, imagining his cigarette card collection of cricketers into life but unable to glean anything useful from these paper heroes.

His parents (Stanley Townsend and Emily Woof) aren't much help: this is 1960s London and they're wrestling with the ostracism of bigoted neighbours. Then along comes a Jamaican family who unwittingly solve all the Wisemans' problems at once: to the horrified neighbours, the Jewish family starts to look positively presentable in comparison.

The senior Wisemans' relief is understandable if troubling, but for David the benefits are far less complicated: the Jamaicans are cricket nuts. Dennis (Delroy

Lindo) quickly becomes the live mentor the boy needs, and his daughter, Judy (Leonie Elliott), becomes a friend.

This is a comingofage tale, nicely told but essentially predictable. David learns about prejudice and loyalty; everyone suffers to become strong. Still, the flecks of magic add a much-needed glow to the inevitable drabness of what is still effectively the 1950s: post-Technicolor, preflower power and - despite the race issues and the cricket whites - realistically grey. NC

Wondrous Oblivion
Cert: certPG