Young Randy has never been good with women although this time his letters and cards with prisoner Crystal seems to have enabled him to get over the usual phase of meeting for the first time and getting to know one another. However, on release he finds he is still awkward and unsure of what to do, despite her being the love of his life. Crystal is gentle with him, trying to help the night get where it is going, but perhaps this is not the great relationship it always seemed to be on paper.
Despite being a British film made by a student at the London Film School, it is very much an American story although I guess it was shot in the UK but just with very good set design? Who knows, but anyway, the story is based on the statistics of more people seeking love in the outside world by looking inwards to prisons and making connections via letter. This idea that people would be afraid of those difficult first steps and seek an easier way is a nice one and it unfolds into a sort of "just do it" film which is cheering and nicely warm, even while at the same time it has a comic darkness to it. To say more than this would be to say too much, so I'll leave it at that.
Hennenfent is awkward without being so pathetic that the viewer loses sympathy or interest for him, while Wittman is harsh but not without kindness, which is what the material needed. Jones is good in a small role with a good mix of carefree menace and humor in his performance. Aston's direction is good, making the most of the small trailer location and manages to very much make it feel like America in there. While it may end on a simple conclusion, because the whole film is nicely done with warmth and a slight touch, the ending does still work and is nicely uplifting, bringing out the warmth from the whole film as opposed to the darker aspects.