An aging Hollywood film star and a young Liverpudlian theatre actor isn’t exactly a pairing you might expect, but this true tale proves it is one that happened. Showcasing a wonderful partnership between Annette Bening and Jamie Bell, Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool delivers a tender love story about the unlikely pair.

Plotting the true-life romance between aging film star Gloria Grahame (Bening) and young small-time actor from Liverpool, Peter Turner (Bell). Following a collapse in Lancaster that Grahame waves away as ‘gas’, Grahame calls her former lover, Turner, to ask if she can recover at his family’s home in Liverpool. The film then flits between Grahame’s deteriorating health and redeveloping relationship with Turner, and flashbacks detailing their romance years earlier.

The film rests on the shoulders of Bening and Bell in convincing the audience of this unusual pairing. They succeed brilliantly. Their performances individually are fantastic, but it is the way they play off of each other that strengthens them. Bening morphs into Grahame, putting on a show as an aging starlet, desperately clinging to her youth. It feels there is an air of performance about Gloria, and the most interesting moments come when Bening lets her mask slip, and the cracks show. She is matched every step of the way by Bell in a more subtle, but just as impactful, performance. Hopefully, this will bring Bell into more leading roles as he clearly thrives there. The supporting cast is also filled out by great performances, including a reuniting of Bell and Julie Walters.

The film feels almost play like sometimes, not only through its dialogue, but also through the transitions between the flashbacks and current day (the 80s). There are shots as an actor walks between one set and another that sends them back in time, or the camera pans around the corner to leap from Liverpool to London. It is an effective technique and something that makes the film stand out from others.

The film’s quiet build-up reaches an emotional whirlwind of a crescendo when we switch to Grahame’s view, briefly, having followed Turner for most of the film. It brings the emotions boiling to the surface that gives the inevitable, and predictable, ending the punch it needs.

It is a well-crafted love story that is unique for its odd-couple, as well as the way it is told.