A stunning aerial shot takes us over tranquil countryside to a small farmhouse in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales. The Darkest Light is an acute portrait both of that farm's inhabitants - a family striving to stick together through a time of personal crisis - and of the surrounding community, which is soon to be confronted with a tragedy of its own.

Stephen Dillane (Welcome to Sarajevo) and the excellent Kerry Fox (Intimacy) portray the weary parents of a young boy, Matthew, who is battling leukaemia. While the couple prays for their son's recovery their elder daughter, Catherine, takes solace from a strange and intensely bright light that she witnesses on a trip across the Dales.

Catherine believes this mysterious light to be an assurance from above that her brother will overcome his illness. However, her best friend worries that it's a bad omen. When the farm is later ravaged by foot-and-mouth disease, the latter reading is apparently validated, yet some villagers cling to Catherine's optimistic interpretation.

Audiences familiar with the socially aware work of Tyneside's Amber collective (the team behind last year's Like Father) will recognise many similarities in this Footprint Films production. A bold and humane tale of everyday lives, The Darkest Light is illuminated by some impressively natural performances, especially from the younger cast members. Authentic dialogue from screenwriter Simon Beaufoy (The Full Monty) strengthens a set of empathetic and entirely credible characters, rendering the film's bleak storyline all the more moving.

Beaufoy and Bille Eltringham's direction is both stylish and understated here, while a hauntingly poignant score from Adrian Johnston heightens the family's plight. Shot through with conviction and all too relevant in light of the recent foot-and-mouth epidemic, this perceptive picture offers the viewer an experience that's unquestionably grueling yet never less than rewarding.

Chris Wiegand