Welcome to Florida! Or rather, welcome to Plantation Island, the fictional beach resort around which director John Sayles weaves the multiple plots and extensive cast of "Sunshine State", his latest provocative slice of American life.

Underneath its sun-swept façade, Plantation Island is divided by outdated racial segregation - between the white-dominated Delrona Beach and black-dominated Lincoln Beach, around which Sayles organises his key characters.

On Delrona, Marly (Falco) is a sparky and sardonic hotelier, reluctantly left in charge of her father's business while her ambitions slowly fade away.

At the same time, Desiree (Bassett) - an actress making a living from infomercials - is returning to Lincoln after 25 years to reconcile with her mother, who sent her away as a pregnant teenager.

From here on, the epic tale is loosely split between these two female characters and their divided locales, which must unite against the threat of real estate developers.

A full tapestry of characterisation is displayed as various islanders and their stories enter the tale, played out in a low-key and subtle style.

Anchored by two striking performances from Edie Falco (best known as Carmela Soprano) and Angela Bassett ("The Score"), the film unveils the hidden stories these characters face and the decisions they must make on a daily basis.

Location and identity are strongly detailed and, as with his previous work, Sayles makes the past a strong plot factor, pitting it against the inevitable need to drive forward both in individual ways and as a society - as well as illustrating its importance at the roots of our culture.

An extensive piece of film making, both in terms of length and detail, "Sunshine State" defies all that is commercial in order to tell its own story, resulting in a humane and moving film with real life values.