Written by The Full Monty screenwriter Simon Beaufoy, this first feature from director Sam Miller returns to the working environs of blue-collar Sheffield, England for a quirky story of love and altitude. Oscar nominee Pete (née Peter) Postelthwaite (In the Name of the Father) stars as Ray, foreman of an on-the-dole crew spending the summer painting 15 miles of power-line towers for pay in unreported cash. One day he picks up Gerry (Rachel Griffiths, also Oscar nominated, for Hilary and Jackie), an Australian hitchhiker who's "one of those find-your-inner-self-on-the-road, traveling, hippie-student types." She's also an avid climber, so Ray gives her a job with the crew.

Which may be a big mistake. They're already under enough pressure from occupational hazards and time constraints, but the insinuation of an attractive single female into their tightly-knit group ratchets tensions up a couple notches. Pressures mount and love blooms several stories above picturesque Yorkshire countryside, where the towers spoil the view but not without lending a certain abstract steel majesty.

Among Giants isn't a masterpiece, and is contrived in places, but it has its moments. Miller puts height to good use as a character, imbuing the painters with an almost mystical nobility that belies their menial task, while an airy, whimsical sound track (from composer Tim Atack, who also scored Miller's next film, Elephant Juice) helps keep the tone from staying too serious. C

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