A bracing antidote to Hollywood-style romcoms, set partly on the Isle Of Skye, Falling Into Place is the directorial debut of German actress Aylin Tezel (7500, Scrapper), who also pens the screenplay and takes on leading lady duties. Sensitive, fearlessly honest and forgiving, it sees two people make a connection amid the ongoing chaos of their lives.

The film tells the story of Kira (Tezel) and Ian (Outlander’s Chris Fulton) who, after catching each other’s eye on a bus, meet properly in Skye at the tail end of a drunken night out. Kira’s getting away after painfully separating from her partner Aidan (Rory Fleck Byrne), returning to a place they once stayed; Ian is there catching up with friends and visiting his mother and ailing father (Kathryn Howden and Michael Carter), while shamefully avoiding his suicidal sister, Annie (Anna Russell-Martin). Unbeknownst to either, they both live in London.

After a Before Sunrise-like night of larking about and baring their souls, the pair go their respective ways. Back in the big city, Kira is still struggling to get over her ex, but starts to make progress as a set designer and artist with the encouragement of director Lewis (Samuel Anderson). Meanwhile, musician Ian is a kept man in an unhappy open relationship with Alexandra Dowling’s Emily.

A few understandable contrivances aside, Falling Into Place feels refreshingly authentic as it presents two flawed and flailing characters who need to figure things out and fix themselves, before they can successfully come together. It’s lovingly shot while acknowledging the complexities of life, and Fulton and Tezel give natural performances and share chemistry as a couple. The script sometimes resorts to trite sentiments, but the rawness of the emotions and the sincerity behind the story shine through.

Falling Into Place is in cinemas from Friday 6 June.