Set against the backdrop of a prison in Victorian England, Affinity is both a Gothic ghost story and a poignant account of a forbidden love between two women, with an unexpected twist in the tale. Based on the novel by Sarah Waters, best-selling author of Tipping The Velvet and Fingersmith, Affinity was adapted for the screen by the prolific screenwriter Andrew Davies (Bridget Jones’s Diary, Brideshead Revisited, Bleak House). Its superb cast includes Anna Madley (Sense and Sensibility), Zoë Tapper (A Midsummer’s Night Dream), Anne Reid (Bleak House) and Amanda Plummer (Pulp Fiction). Following the death of her father, Margaret Prior (Madeley) decides to volunteer as a visitor to the female inmates of Millbank, one of London’s most notorious gaols. Among Millbank’s murderers and common thieves, Margaret finds herself increasingly fascinated by one inmate – the enigmatic and alluring spiritualist Selina (Tapper), who is serving time for the assault of a young girl through a malevolent spirit during a séance. Initially sceptical of Selina’s supernatural gifts, but sympathetic to the plight of this beautiful and seemingly innocent girl, Margaret quickly befriends her. A palpable tension and sexual attraction between the two women grows rapidly more passionate as Selina begins to awaken feelings that Margaret had been struggling to suppress. And then things start to happen – impossible things – which suggest Selina may indeed be telling the truth about her ability to communicate with and command the dead. Affinity is beautifully shot and meticulously acted. Succeeding as a thriller, mystery, drama and unconventional romance, it is a film that leaves the viewer desperately wanting to believe in magic.