Peter Waddington Movies

Little Dorrit was intended as the cinematic equivalent to the mammoth, eight-hour Royal Shakespeare Company's staging of Charles Dickens' Nicholas Nickelby. The film was released to theaters in two parts, each running approximately three hours. The first part, subtitled "Nobody's Fault," introduced us to the seamstress title character (Sarah Pickering), who chooses to live in debtor's prison with her father (Alec Guinness). Good Samaritan Arthur Clennam (Derek Jacobi) endeavors to help both father and daughter. The second part, also known as "Little Dorrit's Story," details Dorrit's escape from penury to lasting happiness. Eschewing the usual 19th century-style British music often heard in Dickensian adaptations, director Christine Edzard creatively -- and effectively -- opts for the strains of Giuseppe Verdi. Edzard's eye for period detail is also deserving of unbounded praise. Unfortunately, part two of Little Dorrit spends nearly half of its running time recapping part one, utilizing much of the same footage. For those familiar with "Nobody's Fault," "Little Dorrit's Story" is more a redundancy than a continuation. Still, taken together, parts one and two all fully deserving of the enthusiastic critical commentary that greeted them upon their original release -- not to mention the multiple Academy Award nominations bestowed upon the project and its participants. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A family is forced to confront the personal issues they've been avoiding for years in this powerful, realistic drama. Cynthia (Brenda Blethyn) is a working-class British woman whose life has been a long series of painful disappointments. She's single with no romantic prospects and a dead-end job at a box factory. Her daughter Roxanne (Claire Rushbrook) works as a street sweeper and is chronically bitter. Cynthia helped raise her brother, Maurice (Timothy Spall), who is doing well as a photographer, but she rarely sees him and usually blames his wife, Monica (Phyllis Logan). One day, Cynthia receives a phone call from a woman named Hortense (Marianne Jean-Baptiste), who claims to be the daughter Cynthia put up for adoption years ago. Cynthia initially reacts with panic, but she agrees to meet Hortense and is surprised to discover that she's a successful and soft-spoken eye doctor -- and that she's black. Cynthia is soon convinced that Hortense is just who she claims to be, and they quickly form a friendship that gives Cynthia a new source of emotional strength. However, when Cynthia decides to introduce the family to her new "friend," it forces them to confront the lies and evasions that have kept them apart all these years. Largely improvised by director Mike Leigh and his cast, Secrets & Lies features standout work by Brenda Blethyn (who earned an Academy Award nomination as Best Actress), Marianne Jean-Baptiste (who was nominated as Best Supporting Actress), and Timothy Spall. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Noted for shooting such films as Exotica, Affliction and X-Men, cinematographer Paul Sarossy makes his directorial debut with this existential crime thriller about a killer struggling to reclaim his soul. Jon is a quiet, nice, and seemingly conventional character who no one would suspect is a hired killer. When he makes such a confession to his mates one drunken evening at the local pub, no one believes him. But a hired killed he is, working for a mysterious figured named The Tattooed Man, whose proclivity for philosophy is match only by his lust for cruelty. When Jon runs into his old high school chum Andy, who is happily married to Jon's first love Cathy, he begins to awaken from his emotional and spiritual torpor. This film was screened at the 2001 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

A young nanny makes a terrifying discovery about the children she is charged with caring for in first-time director Donato Rotunno's unsettling take on The Turn of the Screw. When Anna Veigh (Leelee Sobieski) accepted a job watching two angelic orphans at a remote country estate, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to get out of the city and clear her head. Though her initial meeting with Miles and Flora goes remarkably well, Anna's sense of unease slowly begins to build when she discovers that her predecessor died under mysterious circumstances. Later, Anna's discomfort turns to outright fear as unidentifiable figures appear to stalk the estate's scenic grounds. When it begins to appear as if these malevolent apparitions have targeted the children, the devoted nanny does her best to keep the youngsters safe from harm. The dark cloud of Anna's past casting an ominous shadow over the battle for the souls of her two young charges, the stage is set for a supernatural confrontation that will reveal a terrifying truth too horrific for the human mind to even comprehend. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi