Written by Sam Clark 

Certificate: 12A

Running time: 115 minutes 

Director: Marianne Elliot 

There are certain British dramas that are quite hard to pitch, get right and even sit through. When Mike Leigh's  ''Hard Truths'' came out at the start of the year (a film about a depressed mother desperately trying to hold cope with dead), I thought it was good but was worried that it would perhaps prove too much for some people. Releasing a film like that in a period in which the world is feeling particularly dark and upsetting was brave but still felt as thought it needed to happen.

It struck me (quite powerfully I must say) how noble and unafraid that was being in terms of exploring things that need to be explored and talked about, and that it did not shy away from a sad subject matter just because people may not like it. It served as an important reminder that life is not always going to be nice and easy as you would want it to be, and that darkness does exist. The fact it did not bow down for the sake of making people happy earned my upmost respect (even until the very end).

Photo credit: IMDb/ Black Bear

I had the same feeling watching the first half of ''The Salt Path'' as I did watching ''Hard Truths'', and was hoping and praying this would have a far happier outcome than the latter. I just about coped with it for one film, but another one would have been a lot. This is a film in which there is pain, suffering and misery, but there is brightness, optimism and happiness at the end waiting for you. 

''The Salt Path'' is the directorial debut of Marianne Elliot who comes from a theatre background and written by Rebecca Jenkiewicz, whose most notable work includes the brilliant Harvey Weinstein drama ''She Said'', starring Zoe Kazan and Carey Mulligan on top form. This is the true story of married couple Raynor and Moth Winn, based on Raynor Winn's bestselling memoir. Gillian Anderson plays ''Raynor'' and Jason Isaacs is her husband ''Moth''. 

Photo credit: IMDb/ Black Bear

The pair are forced to pack up their home and their lives as a result of a failed investment ''Moth'' seems to have been involved with, as well as a court ordering the repossession of their home and a fatal arthritic condition that has struck ''Moth''. Carrying nothing but a tent and basic supplies, the two set off on a journey across a six-hundred and thirty-mile South West Coast Path in search for something new, whatever that may be. 

''The Salt Path'' is one of the best feel-good films of the year, and a story that manages to be both upsettingly downtrodden, but also inspiringly uplifting; a combination very difficult to get right. As one would rightly expect from a story like this, this is a film in which you feel every inch of the character's pain and exhaustion, and I confess that I started to feel physically drained watching it as you should. The performances and chemistry of Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs is fantastic here, the story would not work half as well if it were not for their relationship on screen.