Vanessa Vaughan Movies
Filmmaker Atom Egoyan -- a longtime onscreen collaborator with the gifted young actress Sarah Polley (The Sweet Hereafter) -- executive-produced Polley's directorial debut, Away from Her, starring Julie Christie, Olympia Dukakis, Michael Murphy, and Wendy Crewson. Adapted by Polley from a short story by Alice Munro, this small-scaled two-character drama concerns Grant (Gordon Pinsent) and Fiona (Christie), a long-married couple, well into their golden years, who are much in love and connected to one another on every level. "Soul mates" in the purest sense of the term, the two feel a sense of ease and tranquility in their rural home. But when Fiona's memory begins to slip away and she insists on being taken to a rest home, the decision stirs up torrents of guilt and regret in Grant's heart. The rules of the center only complicate matters, as they forbid visitation and communication with Fiona for an interminable period of time. He determines to support his wife at all costs, even if must happen at the expense of his own peace of mind. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi
- Starring:
- Julie Christie, Gordon Pinsent, (more)
- 1992
Produced in Canada and telecast in the US over the TNT Cable Service, The Sound and the Silence is a two-part biography of Alexander Graham Bell. Can the corny jokes, folks: Don Ameche isn't in this one. John Bach delivers a credible performance as Bell, a dedicated teacher of the deaf whose desire to develop a practical electric hearing-aid device leads to the invention of the telephone. Brenda Fricker, Vanessa Vaughn and Ian Bannen costar in this sincere historical drama.Part One, which aired July 18, 1993, details Bell's formative years as teacher and inventor; Part Two, first telecast July 19,1993, covers Bell's later experiments with aviation. Remaining faithful to the facts, John Bach portrays Bell not as a saintly icon but as an irascible, sometimes bombastic maverick. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1992
Based on the true story of Alexander Graham Bell, this movie shows his efforts to help the hearing impaired and where his inventions led. ~ Tana Hobart, Rovi
- 1992
Richard Crenna makes his fifth appearances NYPD detective Frank Janek in Terror on Track 9. The villain this time is a serial killer who preys upon women at Grand Central Station. The murderer's modus operandi is to inject his victims with poison. Janek suspects that the perpetrator is a man with a extensive background in chemistry-but he's still whistling in the dark, inasmuch as he has millions of suspects to choose from. Joan Van Ark and Swoosie Kurtz costar. Made for television, Terror on Track 9 debuted September 20, 1992. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1989
This made-for-TV film represented the first speaking role for hearing-impaired actress Marlee Matlin. A happy wife and mother, Matlin is grief-stricken when her husband is killed in a car accident. Still not fully recovered after several weeks, Matlin must rely on her mother Lee Remick to care for her young daughter. Matlin puts her life back together by joining a theatre troupe comprised of deaf actors, one of whose members is played by Phyllis Frelich, who originated the role in the Broadway version of Children of a Lesser God that Marlee Matlin played in the film version (and won an Academy Award in the process). The film's climax is dictated by Lee Remick's efforts to gain full legal custody of Matlin's daughter. Bridge to Silence was first telecast April 9, 1989. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1986
- PG13
This romance concerns the courtship between Brooks (Kiefer Sutherland), an erratic, brash rich kid who dresses in 1930s garb, and Anne (Vanessa Vaughan) a shy, deaf salesgirl. Brooks first notices Anne when he steals a mannequin from the sporting goods store where she works. The two later get together because Brooks decides to follow Anne home. Eventually, Brooks decides he has to learn sign language, and Anne provides the maladjusted young man with a relationship that is healthy. Along the way there are a few comical moments deriving from Brooks's manic behavior. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Kiefer Sutherland, Peter Spence, (more)
