One Night Stand, by Mike Figgis (Faber, £7.99 in UK)

Seen the movie? Why not read the screenplay? Leaving Las Vegas director, Briton Mike Figgis, takes a less tragic look at obsession…

Seen the movie? Why not read the screenplay? Leaving Las Vegas director, Briton Mike Figgis, takes a less tragic look at obsession in this well-made new film. Even if the entire plot swings on a coincidence capable of making Dickens blush, the story convinces by cleverly juxtaposing the central character's love for a dying friend with a relationship with a woman he meets by chance. Figgis again demonstrates his commitment to the realistic, fragmented, often awkward dialogue people actually speak. Don't be put off by the brash Nineties title. One Night Stand is as romantic as slightly soft-edged realism could hope to be. And about as French as American cinema can aspire to. Only don't expect Robert Downey Jr's dazzlingly mercurial performance to leap from the page. E.B.