Love Is All, film review: The changing attitudes in Britain toward sex and romance

(12A) Kim Longinotto, 74 mins

There are plenty of conventional shots of couples looking at each other with longing

Kim Longinotto's archive-based doc examines changing attitudes in Britain toward sex and romance – as portrayed on screen in British films. It takes us from Victorian-era stolen kisses in railway carriages to gay marriage today.

There are plenty of conventional shots of couples looking at each other with longing. The tone is playful and lyrical. Longinotto doesn't resort to voiceovers or interviews. Instead, she uses Richard Hawley's wonderfully dreamy music to bring out the underlying themes.

Alongside the comedy, pathos and eroticism of clips dealing with courtship and marriage, the film highlights slowly changing attitudes toward race and gender.

Longinotto makes sure she includes footage of black and Asian Britain. There are also scenes of women refusing to accept the version of love that their menfolk want to impose on them.