Irene Sutcliffe Movies
- 1988
- PG
Set in sexually repressive 1950's London, We Think the World of You features actor Alan Bates as Frank, a gay middle-aged businessman whose lover Johnny (Gary Oldman) is married and in jail for burglary. While Johnny (Oldman) is behind bars, his beloved German shepard Evie becomes the center of a heated custody battle between himself, his wife (Frances Barber), his mother (Liz Smith), his stepfather (Max Wall), and finally, Frank (Bates). Frank eventually becomes more enamoured with the scene-stealing German shepard than he is with her absent master. We Think the World of You was directed by Colin Gregg and based on a semi-autobiographical novel by Joseph R. Ackerley, one of the first modern authors to come out as openly gay. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi
- Starring:
- Alan Bates, Gary Oldman, (more)
Screenwriter Bruce Robinson made his directorial debut with this British comedy. Withnail (Richard E. Grant) is an unsuccessful, pill-popping actor; "I," or Marwood (Paul McGann), is Withnail's roommate and another equally underemployed actor. The time is 1969: Withnail is fast becoming a burned-out relic of the '60s, while Marwood is trying to reassimilate into society. The two take a trip to the country in hopes of rejuvenating themselves, but things go from worse to even worse. Given the intimacy and insight of the screenplay and dialogue, one shouldn't be surprised that Bruce Robinson (who adapted the film from his own novel) based Withnail & I on his own experiences. The film proves that certain "Age of Aquarius" types were just as bollixed-up in Britain as they were in America. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Richard E. Grant, Paul McGann, (more)
- 1983
Set in the years before World War I, this film is about Robert, a young man growing up in a wealthy family in Toronto who is burdened by a distant, cool mother and a father dedicated to duty, both highly conservative people. When Robert loses his beloved invalid sister in a car accident he is further tormented by the family's decision to kill her pet rabbits - and quarrels with them so intensely that he enlists in the army and goes off to war. Once "over there," he discovers brothels and romance, and in a climactic scene, decides to free a barn full of horses from certain death - in spite of contrary orders from his superiors. The juxtaposition of Robert's internal conflict and the external horrors of combat may have been intended to illustrate the nature of "war," although that is difficult to surmise since the evidence in the film is not that strong. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Brent Carver, Martha Henry, (more)
- 1979
What happened when best-selling mystery novelist Agatha Christie disappeared for 11 days back in 1926? The British Agatha "answers" that question. Vanessa Redgrave is cast as Ms. Christie, who vanished from her home not long after her husband (Timothy Dalton) informed her that he was leaving her. Nearly two weeks later, after being the subject of a nationwide search, Christie showed up none the worse for wear at a health spa in Yorkshire, insisting that she could remember nothing of her experiences during her disappearance. According to scriptwriters Kathleen Tynan and Arthur Hopcraft, Christie was located before her return by American reporter Wally Stanton (an uncomfortable-looking Dustin Hoffman), after enjoying a brief romantic fling with the authoress. The journalist decided to keep his discovery a secret. Another plot wrinkle concerns Christie's plan for revenge against her errant husband -- a scheme with all the earmarks of a Miss Marple or Poirot whodunit. Agatha represented former TV director Michael Apted's matriculation to A-pictures with major stars; he fared better with his subsequent endeavor, Coal Miner's Daughter (1980). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Dustin Hoffman, Vanessa Redgrave, (more)
