Acceptable Levels begins when a London TV crew interviews the grieving family of a Belfast youth, accidentally killed by a British soldier. Chief reporter Kay Adshead wants to explore the political ramifications of the incident, but is prevented from doing so by her timorous producer Andy Rashleigh. Even though most of her filmed report is destroyed at Rashleigh's insistence, Adshead isn't about to let anyone off the hook. This guilt-trip element of Acceptable Levels plays well enough, but the scenes which contrast the TV crew's posh living conditions with the harshness of the Irish family's existence work better within the framework of the film. Five writers labored upon the screenplay of Acceptable Levels, including the film's director, John Davies.