Irina Palm

Maggie is a quiet, reserved grandmother whose life is shaken when her young grandson becomes seriously ill. The treatment he needs could save him, but her family cannot cover the cost, and her son and his wife have no way of raising the money in time. Desperate for work and finding few options open to a woman her age, Maggie answers an advertisement for a hostess at a club in London's Soho district. She takes the job under the name Irina Palm, keeping it hidden from those close to her, and discovers that the work is not what she had assumed. With help from a colleague named Luisa, she learns the trade and becomes unexpectedly sought after, while the effort to keep her two lives apart grows harder as the people around her begin to notice.

The film was directed by Sam Garbarski, working from a screenplay by Martin Herron. Marianne Faithfull plays Maggie, with Miki Manojlović as Miki, Kevin Bishop as Tom, Siobhan Hewlett as Sarah, Dorka Grylls as Luisa and Jenny Agutter as Jane. It was released in 2007 and runs 103 minutes.

Made for about 5 million dollars, it took roughly 11 million worldwide, a return that indicates a modest but real international audience for a European drama of this kind. On TMDB it holds 6.9 out of 10 from 183 votes, a moderate score suggesting viewers responded reasonably well without the film becoming a broad favourite.