Shirley Adams, directed by Oliver Hermanus

Tonight, Speciality Cinema at 6.30 p.m. and Tuesday at 1 p.m.

Filmgoers expecting anexplicit examination of South Africa's fraught racial environment in "Shirley Adams" are likely to be disappointed.

It is there, but it is almost too subtle in this largely depressing film.

Directed by Oliver Hermanus, the film chronicles a South African woman whose life falls apart after her son is left paralysed from a random shooting.

The title character, Shirley, turns to shop lifting after her husband skips town, unable to cope, and her son attempts suicide. She is then forced to accept help from a young white nurse.

However, the white nurse seemed out of place as she served little purpose and I could not tell if she was meant to be a privileged idiot, unaware of how many South Africans lived, or an understanding caseworker.

Instead a lot of the film was shot with jerky camera movements and dim lighting. It also came across as claustrophobic, with many of the shots too tight.

Obviously this was meant to be an artsy way of illustrating the dark nature of the film.

Perhaps it succeeded in that, as it showed just how terribly soul destroying Shirley's life is. The final few scenes reinforce the point that little good can happen in Shirley's life.

However, that's just this reviewer's view. And clearly a lot of people like the film. In fact the entire Durban Film Festival seems to disagree as they voted it the best South African film, best debut by a director and best actress (Denise Newman) last year.

The only one I agree with them on is Ms Newman's award. I really wouldn't want to live a day in Shirley's shoes so she succeeded in portraying a bleak existence.