Synopsis

Struggling artist Richard is sentenced to community service after a reckless attempt to fly from a London building. Assigned to care for Jane, a sharp-tongued young woman with motor neurone disease, he expects an unpleasant obligation. Instead, their uneasy arrangement develops into a close friendship. When Jane asks Richard to help her experience sexual intimacy before her death, the request sends them on an unexpected and emotionally complicated journey.

Factoids & Trivia

• The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 11, 1998, before its theatrical release.

• The screenplay was Richard Hawkins' first feature screenplay. He later made his directing debut with Everything in 2004.

• Produced through BBC Films and Distant Horizon, the movie was distributed internationally through companies including Miramax International and Summit Entertainment.

• Its central subject was unusual for a mainstream romantic comedy of the period: the sexuality and emotional life of a woman living with a progressive disability.

• The film became part of Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert's final joint television review lineup. Siskel gave it a thumbs-up, while Ebert disagreed.

• Reviews were mixed. Critics often praised the humor and the chemistry between the leads, while some felt the final section became overly sentimental.

• The title refers both to Richard's homemade flying experiments and to the characters' desire to escape physical, emotional, and social limitations.