Kat and her girlfriend Eva live in bohemian bliss on their London barge, floating to a new mooring every couple weeks. Kat (Game of Thrones’ Natalia Tena, here divinely channeling Shane from The L Word) is content with the status quo, but Eva (fellow Game of Thrones star Oona Chaplin) wants a baby. The fortuitous arrival of Kat’s straight pal Roger, in addition to too much tequila, conquers Kat’s doubts—at least momentarily.

Anchor and Hope starts as a raucous, ribald comedy of manners and becomes more thoughtful without ever losing its deft touch. The writing is sharp—we’ve all heard Eva’s drunken argument that lesbians have a duty to procreate to combat the hordes of right-wing Christian babies—and the performances are stellar. David Verdaguer, who starred alongside Tena in the director’s previous feature 10.000 Km, is hilarious as horny sperm-donor Roger, who “shoots his wad” with a hookup, leaving nothing to fill the turkey baster. Chaplin gives a layered performance as a woman working hard to ignore the rifts in her relationship, and Chaplin’s real-life mother, Geraldine, is an added bonus as Eva’s ex-hippie mom, Germaine.

Award-winning director Carlos Marques-Marcet makes fine use of London’s canals in this not-for-tourists view of the city. The gritty but romantic setting is the final touch on an ideal romcom: funny, sweet, and sad, with a trio of characters like real people: only cuter, hipper, and having more sex.

— MONICA NOLAN