Movie: Away We Go

Shot at the same time as his previous movie Revolutionary Road, Sam Mendes is back at the helm of the good ship HMS Relationship Movie with Away We Go. Set in the present day, it chronicles the search for a new home undertaken by thirtysomething couple Verona (Saturday Night Live's Maya Rudolph) and Bert (The Office: An American Workplace's John Krasinki) before they have their first daughter.

After Bert's excitable parents drop the bombshell that they're moving to Belgium - a month before the birth - the pair embark on a disfunctional trek accross the US and Canada in search of a place to set up home. The ostenibly crucial factor is finding somewhere with close friends nearby, but the movie's aim is more ambitious, attempting an inquest into what the modern concept of 'home' really means.

With a screenplay written by Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida, Away We Go is certainly packed. Featuring some five-star cameos from the likes of a wonderful Maggie Gyllenhall as a wacky new age mother and the outrageously crude Allison Janney, Away We Go boasts a strong cast. But like other movies with list-ticking plotlines spanning several cities (think High Fidelity meets Marley and Me), the two leads are left to carry the plot while all others are merely functional.

Parenthood is as much a major theme as home in Away We Go, with genuinely tear-jerking moments interlaced with saccharine ones. It leaps between emotions with ease, and the imminent baby sits like a chrysalis at the centre of everything, infusing every subplot like a talcum-powder scented force of nature.

Soundtracked by Nick Drake-alike Alexi Murdoch, Away We Go is lo-fi and domesticated - which is great for a hangover but not something to get pulses racing. Eventually, it's not so much about home or children as it is about being in love, and battling through all life's adversities with a seemingly divine level of loving calm and understanding. A nice idyll, but some more moments of dark might have made the illuminated ones a little more poignant.

Check out screenings of Away We Go near you at odeon.co.uk and watch the trailer below.

Check out the website that accompanies the movie, where you can upload your memories about songs that have soundtracked your life to a 'musical map' - go to www.awaywegothemovie.co.uk