STEPHEN FRY'S feature film directorial debut is an inventive adaptation of Evelyn Waugh's 1920s novel Vile Bodies.

Destitute writer Adam Symes (Stephen Campbell Moore) struggles to eke out a meagre living in London between the world wars.

He is several weeks in arrears with his rent to his bawdy landlady Lottie Crump (Julia McKenzie), and a sure-fire betting tip leaves him seriously out of pocket when horse racing insider, The Major (Jim Broadbent), vanishes with Adam's hefty £1,000 stake. Adam needs to raise money quickly, not only to keep a roof over his head but also to woo his sweetheart Nina Blount (Emily Mortimer).

She is the daughter of a wealthy aristocrat, Colonel Blunt (Peter O'Toole), and Adam's precarious social standing and poverty preclude any kind of romance between the pair of them.

Resigned to never consummating their love, Adam and Nina seek solace with their friends Miles (Michael Sheen), Agatha (Fenella Woolgar) and Archie (Guy Henry), collectively known as the Bright Young Things.

The press flock around these party-loving, fast-living youngsters, whose wild behaviour is shocking to the older generation.

In the endless search for new sensations, the Bright Young Things spiral dangerously out of control, until they are all forced to take stock of their lives and what matters most to them.

Fry directs with verve and he orchestrates some terrifically lively sequences, starting as he means to go on with a colour-drenched sequence inside a club which is reminiscent of Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge.

The film looks lustrous and much of the humour translates - something just seems to be missing.

Rating: 6/10