Stephen Woolley Movies

The hopes and dreams of aspiring musicians competing in the junior version of the Eurovision Song Contest serve as the emotional core of this behind the scenes look at one of Europe's hottest television contests. The rules are just the same as the Eurovision Song Contest with one key difference - the songs performed by the junior entrants must be entirely original compositions, not cover tunes. As the competition heats up, eager musicians and groups descend upon Rotterdam to compete in the finals. But there can be only one winner, and in the lead-up to the finals, most of the contestants will see their dreams of stardom fade as the spotlight shifts to reveal the one performer who . ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Adapted from poet Blake Morrison's best-selling memoir by screenwriter David Nicholls and directed for the screen by Anand Tucker, And When Did You Last See Your Father? explores -- like its source material -- the complex, manifold emotional layers of a father-and-son relationship as it shifts and evolves over the passing decades. At the film's center is Blake Morrison himself, who for as long as he can remember has lived in the overarching shadow of his physician father, Arthur (Jim Broadbent) -- falling prey to feelings of embarrassment from the old man, as well as occasional awe. In the 1950s, when Blake (Bradley Johnson) was a child, the boy watched as Arthur partook in socially uncouth behavior such as wheedling his way into clubs to which he didn't belong, and carrying on an extramarital affair with the full knowledge of his wife, Kim (Juliet Stevenson). As the years passed, teenage Blake's (Matthew Beard) discomfort around his father hardened into resentment -- particularly when the adolescent boy expressed interest in a girl, Rachel (Carey Mulligan), who clearly preferred his father; compounding the situation, Blake then had to suffer through Arthur's decision to publicly humiliate his son in front of everyone. The central dynamic has changed for the two, however, by the late '80s, when Blake -- now married to Kathy (Gina McKee) and freshly established as a successful novelist and poet -- learns that Arthur has contracted terminal cancer. Now, the junior Morrison takes a headfirst plunge into the memories and recollections of his youth -- and grapples with the dynamic of his relationship with Arthur for the first time in his life as he comes face to face with the need to provide loving care for the old man. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

An Irish boy becomes an emotional and sexual outcast as the 1960s fade into the 1970s in this period drama from director Neil Jordan. When he was just a baby in the early '60s, Patrick Braden (Conor McEvoy) was abandoned by his mother and left on the doorstep of a church overseen by Father Bernard (Liam Neeson). Placed in a foster home, sensitive Patrick doesn't much care for the emotionally chilly attitude of his new "family," and psychologically buffers himself against the world by writing stories that make fun of Father Bernard and the other authority figures in his life. As he grows into adulthood, Patrick (played as an adult by Cillian Murphy) also discovers that he enjoys dressing in women's clothes and prefers the company of men, and as a teenager he falls into an affair with Billy Hatchet (Gavin Friday), a nightclub performer who also runs guns for the Irish Republican Army. In the early '70s, Patrick -- who has since taken on the drag name "Kitten" -- makes his way to London, where he becomes involved with Bertie (Stephen Rea), a small-time nightclub magician who gives the young man a place to say, a sense of security, and a job as his on-stage assistant. However, Patrick's idyllic life with Bertie proves short-lived when his old friends come to town on IRA "business." Breakfast on Pluto also features a supporting performance from former Roxy Music frontman Bryan Ferry. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Loosely based on Jean-Pierre Melville's French film noir Bob le Flambeur, this heist film from director Neil Jordan (Interview With the Vampire, The Crying Game) stars Nick Nolte as Bob, an aging American thief living in the French city of Nice. Addicted to both heroin and gambling, Bob is in the midst of an extended personal losing streak when he rescues a new girl in town named Anne (Nutsa Kukhianidze) from her pimp. When the opportunity to steal a fortune in rare paintings from a Monte Carlo casino comes along, Bob hopes for a score big enough to let him retire from his life of crime. His only hindrances are Anne's man troubles and his nemesis, local police chief Roger (Tchéky Karyo). The Good Thief also features acting performances by Emir Kusturica (director of Underground and Arizona Dream) and Ralph Fiennes. ~ Tom Vick, All Movie Guide

Two boys from troubled homes find that their love for British football gives them a focus in life -- and gets them into deep trouble in this realistic comedy drama. Sewell (Greg McLane) and Gerry (Chris Beattie) are two close friends growing up in an economically-depressed neighborhood in Newcastle-on-Tyne. Sewell has been living with his grandfather (Roy Hudd) since his parents abandoned him years ago, while Gerry, his mother (Charlie Hardwick), and his sister Clare (Tracy Whitwell) drift from flat to flat trying to avoid Gerry's dad (Tim Healy), an abusive thief and alcoholic. Sewell and Gerry aren't much on school, but they do have a dream -- they're loyal supporters of the Newcastle United football team, and they would love more than anything to have season tickets to see them play. However, the passes would cost 1,000 pounds, which is hardly within the boy's means; while they pledge to give up cigarettes to help save the money, they know that alone won't pay the tab. Gerry and Sewell try a number of schemes to make some extra money, from selling old things from around the house to shoplifting, but when they move on to the big leagues -- car theft and bank robbery -- things take an unexpected turn. Purely Belter was screened as part of the "Director's Fortnight" series at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Finnish director Ilkka Jarvilaturi directs an international cast in this deadpan post-Cold War spy farce. Jaded CIA veteran Harry (Bill Pullman) and young SVR agent Natasha (Irene Jacob) are on-again off-again lovers who have little to do in Helsinki except spy on one another, until a courier (Bruno Kirby) shows up with a porno tape bearing top-secret US satellite codes. Natasha wants the tape to get her psychotic boss (Udo Kier) off her back, while Harry needs it to placate his Boy Scout colleague fresh from spy school. History is Made at Night was screened at the 1999 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

The Lost Son brings together talented British director Chris Menges with a well-known face of French cinema, Daniel Auteuil, who plays a detective in self-exile in London who deals mostly with cases of adultery. At the same time, he is trying to come to terms with the ghosts of his past. While trying to locate the brother-in-law of an old friend who once saved his life, he finds himself in the middle of a network of pedophiles. The director tries to avoid voyeurism or over-simplification in dealing with such a sensitive issue. The tone is not judgmental. One memorable image sums up the thrust of the film: a silent boy urinating on the corpse of one of his torturers. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, All Movie Guide

Love, politics, and class at once bring together and tear apart an extended family in this period drama. In 1920, Ireland is in the midst of a political upheaval, as upper class Anglo-Irish Protestants are driven from the country by the nation's increasingly vocal wishes Irish Catholic majority. Sir Richard Naylor (Michael Gambon) and his wife Lady Myra (Maggie Smith) are wealthy members of the Anglo-Irish aristocracy who slowly realize the life they've known in County Cork is coming to an end. Living with the Naylors are their financially-embarrassed friends Hugo and Francie Montmorency (Lambert Wilson and Jane Birkin); Marda Norton (Fiona Shaw), another friend who was one involved with Hugo; their nephew Laurence (Jonathan Slinger), a student at Oxford; and their niece Lois (Keeley Hawes). Lois is infatuated with Gerald (David Tennat), a British officer helping to mind the Naylors' property, though Myra believes he's beneath Lois' station; however, she's also keenly attracted to Connolly (Gary Lydon), an IRA soldier who is hiding in a mill on the estate. The Last September was based on the novel by Elizabeth Bowen. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In this witty romantic thriller, Alan (Jared Harris) is a London schoolteacher who leads a quiet, mildly stuffy life. As a hobby, he serves as a jazz disc jockey, spinning tunes for a hospital's public address system, but he craves danger and excitement. One night, Alan stops into a bar for a drink and sees Beatrice (Asia Argento), a beautiful woman who is arguing with two men. Alan is immediately enraptured by Beatrice and begins to pursue her. What Alan doesn't know is that Beatrice is an infamous thief known to the police as "B. Monkey" (named for her ability to break into anything), and the men she was quarreling with were Paul (Rupert Everett) and Bruno (Jonathan Rhys Meyers), a gay couple who are her partners in crime. When Alan becomes aware of Beatrice's secret, he tries to lead her into a safer and more honest way of life, even as she lures him into the thrilling existence he's been dreaming of. Leading lady Asia Argento is the daughter of Italian horror auteur Dario Argento. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Neil Jordan directed this adaptation of Patrick McCabe's novel about a boy's struggles with violence and mental illness. Francie Brady (Eamonn Owens) is a young boy growing up in Dublin in the early 1960s, where his life is dominated by his active imagination and his best friend Joe (Alan Boyle). But beneath this benign surface lurks a troubled soul; his father (Stephen Rea) is an embittered alcoholic, his mother (Aisling O'Sullivan) is emotionally unstable and periodically ends up in the local mental hospital (or as she calls it, "the garage," because it's where they take you when you break down), and their next-door neighbor, Mrs. Nugent (Fiona Shaw) often rants that the Bradys are "pigs" not fit to live with. For all their troubles, Francie fiercely loves his parents, and he can't abide Mrs. Nugent's insults. But his playful childhood pranks begin to advance into more destructive and menacing behavior, which leads him to his own stay in "the garage." Branded a lunatic by the community and shorn of his only close friendship when Joe takes up with Mrs. Nugent's son, Francie soon reaches the point of collapse. With nowhere to go, Francie takes an especially awful job as a butcher's assistant, and his overactive imagination goes into overdrive, flooding his mind with images of alien takeover, atomic apocalypse, and the Virgin Mary (Sinead O'Connor) that lead him further down the path toward shocking acts of violence. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In part, filmmaker Stephan Elliott (best known for The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert) made this black, surrealistic and subversive comedy to bid farewell to Australian cultural traditions (i.e. excessive beer drinking, racism and sexism) that are rapidly disappearing due to the increasing infiltration of urban sophistication and political correctness into even the county's most remote regions. Unfortunately, Elliot's outrageous tribute to past 'traditions' is presented with such vulgar abandon that many Australians are sure to be offended, not tickled, even though Elliot did try to tone down the mean spirit of the original script which was first titled 'Big Red.' The story centers on Teddy, a fugitive con-artist who has fled New York and gone into the Australian outback. His troubles begin when he is picked up at a lonely gas station by the blonde and brassy Angie who quickly seduces him and then knocks him out cold. Teddy awakens to find himself in the dusty town of Woop Woop. Surrounded by steep cliffs, the town, which was built near a now-defunct asbestos mine, is ruled by Angie's father Daddy-O, who is as much a warden as he is a local leader, deciding when and who will enter and leave Woop Woop. A weird place that is supported by a kangaroo-meat dog-food factory, it is populated by beer-swilling rednecks, crude eccentrics (and a giant kangaroo named Big Red) who find endless entertainment listening to Oscar & Hammerstein musicals (the town's ramshackle drive-in runs The Sound of Music and South Pacific continuously). Teddy quickly discovers that he is in effect the burg's newest prisoner and is expected to constantly service the sexually insatiable Angie. Not willing to remain a captive, Teddy begins planning his escape. The story's surrealism comes from Elliot's deliberately inappropriate use of musical numbers to punctuate events. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide