s a fun, but predictable comedy that puts the tidy world of a Northampton shoe factory next to the flamboyance of transvestites, Kinky Boots tells the true story of how a local shoe factory on the brink of collapse resurrects itself by switching from making sensible Oxfords to wild stiletto-heel boots for cross-dressers. But the film is really a platform for star Chiwetel Ejiofor, who shines in a fantastically controlled performance as Lola, belting out tunes in sequined frocks, but yet stifled when non-drag.

After his dad passes away, Charlie Price (Joel Edgerton) sets about rescuing the shoe factory which has been the pride of the family for over 40 years. The business is in trouble and will go under unless he can drum up some business. Salvation comes when, on a trip to London, he saves what he thinks is a woman from a mugging and meets Lola (Ejiofor), a drag queen who performs at The Angel Club in Soho. Catching her show from backstage, Charlie is inspired to move the factory into a new niche market - kinky boots made especially for men like Lola ... and designed by Lola herself.

But is Northampton open minded enough for the likes of Lola? “Look to the heel, young man. Sex is in the heel.” So says Lola, whose insights into stiletto construction and their psychosexual message may just save the shoe factory.

Lola looks hot in a formfitting gown, but somehow, perhaps because Ejiofor doesn’t vamp up to full gear, she retains an enigmatic virility, as if wearing a dress allows the man beneath Lola’s made-up exterior to feel more masculine, not less so — this ought to resonate with secret cross-dressers the world over.