I hate to preface any review of a film with the words 'the novel is better' but in this case it's almost incontrovertible.

However, the fact that the eponymous novel by Walter Tevis was and still is a classic of science fiction literature doesn't take too much away from this frequently bizarre, creatively shot and, on the whole, well acted film. It's possibly David Bowie's finest acting hour, too (though fans of Labyrinth may disagree here!).

The plot is classic: our hero travels to and confronts an alien society. Only this time the society is ours - Earth in the 20th century - and he is the alien.

The hows of his arrival are dealt with quickly, but the whys are deftly revealed as the film progresses. Along the way we are treated to some frankly wierd visual tricks and a genuine sense of strangeness.

And talking of strange, David Bowie is a great fit as our alien hero, Thomas Newton. His thin and pale frame and odd staccato movements and speech perfectly reflect the idea of an alien trying to act 'normal'. Rumours persist that Bowie was on a large amount of drugs during the production of this film and may have genuinely believed his own alien-ness.

There are several flaws that stop the film becoming a classic, however. The pacing of the film is very slow by modern standards and Nicolas Roeg's direction seems to delight in visual effects (as in his earlier film Don't Look Now) to the detriment of plot advancement and narrative coherence. The look and feel of the film is also very dated, demonstrating that old paradox that films about the future date far faster than films about the present.

All in all, this film is worth a look, as much for Bowie's bravura performance as for anything else.