Cert - 15, Run-time - 1 hour 47 minutes.

Director - James McAvoy.

Hopeful Scottish rappers Gavin (Seamus McLean Ross) and Billy (Samuel Bottomley) are turned down by music execs because of their accents, but success calls when they pretend to be American in order to expose the industry.

California Schemin' pulls the rug from under you multiple times. Starting out as an almost Scottish That Thing You Do before becoming a more intense drama. A heated exchange between the central characters made me realise how utterly engrossed I was, looking up at the screen in open-mouthed fascination at the 'based on a true story.'

Billy (Samuel Bottomley) and Gavin (Seamus McLean Ross) are hopeful Scottish rappers, creating hip-hop tracks in-between call centre shifts. It's 2003 and major labels are looking for the next Eminem or Wu-Tang Clan, however a Dundee accent doesn't fit the bill. The two are mocked at a major audition, labelled the "rapping Proclaimers." Having had enough, Gavin makes a call with a dodgy Californian accent and the pair find themselves signed up as the USA's own Silbil N' Brains, quickly finding success in clubs. Working towards a single they plan to expose the industry, and who they really are, on MTV.

James McAvoy, making his directorial debut, gets powerhouse performances from his cast. The characters lead the events rather than the narrative or industry around them. There's a spark to Ross and Bottomley's turns which adds to the drama's punchiness. The room spins around them until the tables turn and they struggle to separate themselves from their American personas; keeping up the act when no one else is around.

You can feel one's worry for the other at how deep in character they've become; getting more lost amongst drink, drugs and success - even before properly releasing music. Yet, when performing before a crowd there's a sense of pure, joint elation.

Natural chuckles in the early stages fade in line with the shifting tone of the film. The fire and intensity of the drama is turned up with real impact. The story could so easily tread conventional lines, one or two such elements crop up but avoid Dewey Cox territory. but what avoids them from full flourish is the simple connection we have with the characters and their journey. Their bond is likeable, we want them to succeed.

The personas feel more like amusing deception rather than damaging lies, until others are brought more into the picture. Particularly Billy's girlfriend Mary (Lucy Halliday - holding her won when getting the character to outshine the two leads) and the pair's first-time manager Tessa (Rebekah Murrell), who scouted them at their first club appearance.

With his debut, McAvoy creates a stunning, thoroughly entertaining drama. With strong lead turns for both characters and personas there's light and dark to the deception at hand. I sat struck by California Schemin' and its performances from start to finish. It seems the UK continues to make the best musical biopics, even when we have to question whether we can consider the personas of the characters as underdogs with the damage they start to do.

Five stars