Portraits of Dangerous Women offers little danger – but is an intriguing slice of English life nonetheless

At one point in the new movie Portraits of Dangerous Women, young woman Ashley (Yasmin Monet Prince) is talking to gallery owner Jon (Mark Lewis Jones) about her collection of found photographs. “I just want to put them in …”, “context?” Jon ventures. “No, frames” Ashley corrects. This seemingly simple act encapsulates the work of the film, in which the mundane is given centre stage, but in a disconcertingly unfamiliar way.

Set in a strangely timeless version of England, the film centres on the lives of three “dangerous women”...