Harriet Walter Movies

Stephen Frears, the director who bolstered his international reputation with his Choderlos de Laclos adaptation Dangerous Liaisons (1988), returns to the annals of period intrigue over 20 years later with this melodrama, which reunites him with Liasons scripter Christopher Hampton and star Michelle Pfeiffer. An adaptation of Colette's 1920 novel of the same name, the tale unfurls in late 19th century Paris -- La Belle Époque -- where numerous courtesans (or female companions of noblemen who occupied the royal courts) have worked their way up through the ranks of high society. Two retired courtesans, Charlotte Peloux (Kathy Bates) and Lea (Michelle Pfeiffer), meet for some routine gossip; Lea then meets Charlotte's hedonistic playboy son, nicknamed "Chéri" (Rupert Friend), and a passionate, erotic affair blossoms for the next six years between Lea and Chéri. Eventually, Charlotte makes an aggressive attempt to interfere with the situation by setting up an arranged marriage between Chéri and the virginal 18-year-old Edmée (Felicity Jones), the daughter of another ex-courtesan, Marie-Laure (Iben Hjejle). Lea feels irritated, and responds by seeking out young male lovers during a vacation in Biarritz, but the attached Chéri is not far behind, and in seemingly no time at all the two resume their bedroom liaisons. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

A mischievous girl accuses her older sister's lover of a crime he did not commit, only to find that her words have irrevocably and permanently changed the lives of all involved in a film that re-teams the filmmakers behind Pride & Prejudice to adapt the best-selling 2002 novel by author Ian McEwan. The year is 1935, and as the summer heat takes hold, 13-year-old fledgling writer Briony Tallis watches her older sister, Cecilia (Keira Knightley), get undressed and go frolicking in the garden fountain on her family's country estate. The housekeeper's son, Robbie (James McAvoy), a childhood friend and recent Cambridge graduate, also witnesses the innocent act. When Robbie and Cecilia subsequently cross a particularly sensitive boundary and the scheming Briony accuses Robbie of an unspeakable transgression for which the boy is wholly innocent, the repercussions of her unfounded claim threaten to affect all three for decades to come. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Frank Van Passel's adaptation of William Elsschot's novella Villa des Roses stars Julie Delpy. Delpy is a French maid who works at a home for the poor and unfortunate. She becomes pregnant, and is forced to risk a dangerous abortion. The director employed digital effects to help create the elaborate visual design of the film. Villa des Roses was screened at the Hollywood Film Festival. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

An American businessman rents a cottage in Ireland, only to find the cottage is also inhabited by leprechauns as well. Soon, the American finds himself embroiled in a fierce dispute between the leprechauns and their enemies, the fairies, that only he can help settle. ~ All Movie Guide

Author Roald Dahl's children's books (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Witches, and Matilda, to name just a few) are known as much for their whimsy and magic as they are for their poignant and sometimes dark insight into what it's like to be a young child. In Dahl's case, childhood was oftentimes far from a magical experience; however, his tumultuous youth as well as an increasingly complex adult life nonetheless played a part in his creative process, as friends and family attest in this production. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide

Richard E. Grant and Helena Bonham Carter star in this satiric comedy about an advertising man who one day decides he's wasting his life and wants to devote himself to the higher calling of poetry, much to the puzzlement of those around him, while trying to maintain a relationship with a beautiful woman who works in his old office. Based on the novel Keep The Aspidistra Flying by {%George Orwell. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Based on a novel by George Orwell, this satiric comedy concerns Gordon Comstock (Richard E. Grant), an advertising copywriter who fancies himself a poet. While Gordon has published a small volume of his verse that received faint words of praise in the press ("promising" was the most enthusiastic adjective used, in a review that turned out to be written by his publisher), he is convinced that literary greatness lurks deep within him. Deciding that he should begin living the bohemian lifestyle that is the mark of a true artist, Gordon quits his job, even though his friends think he's gone daft and even his publisher Ravelston (Julian Wadham) believes that he's being rash. Gordon's girlfriend Rosemary (Helena Bonham Carter) thinks he's being a bit silly but stands by him, even though Gordon's voluntary descent into poverty has a dire impact on their sex life; Gordon's new digs in a cheap boarding house offer little privacy, thanks to his prying landlady (Liz Smith), and Rosemary lacks Gordon's enthusiasm for love in the great outdoors. Desperate for money, Gordon takes a job in a used book shop (where he sees his own book marked down to three pence...with no takers), and he is forced to rethink his new lifestyle when he learns that one of his increasingly rare sexual assignations with Rosemary has left her pregnant. Originally titled Keep the Aspidistra Flying after Orwell's novel, this film was more widely distributed as A Merry War; it also briefly played under the title Comstock and Rosemary. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The difficult realities of life in Britain during the early Industrial Age are explored in this made-for-television adaptation of the novel by Charles Dickens. Thomas Gradgrind (Bob Peck) is a schoolteacher working in Coketown, a grim industrial town in the North of England, who believes that facts are of supreme importance and imagination is folly. Gradgrind imposes his philosophies on his children, arranging for his daughter, Louisa (Beatie Edney), to marry Josiah Bounderby (Alan Bates), a businessman old enough to be her father, who also employs her brother, Tom (Christien Anholt). As Louisa tries to find a way out of her relationship with Bounderby, she finds herself pursued by the even more repellant James Harthouse (Richard E. Grant). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In France in 1452, the dark superstition of the Medieval era was beginning to give way to the more enlightened attitudes of the Renaissance. But the changes were slow in coming, as Richard Courtois (Colin Firth) learns when he moves to the country village of Abbeville, owned and ruled by the Seigneur (Nicol Williamson). Courtois is a lawyer, or an "advocate" as they were called in those days, and the Seigneur has hired him to act as a public defender for those who cannot provide their own legal counsel. One odd remnant of the dark ages that Abbeville has not purged from its legal system is the practice of prosecuting animals as well as humans for crimes; as Courtois arrives, he nearly witnesses the execution of both a man and a donkey who were found guilty of bestiality (the donkey was spared at the last minute because it could not be proved that she consented to the act). So Courtois is not exactly surprised when one of his first cases finds him defending a pig against charges of murdering a small child. Courtois soon discovers that the pig belongs to Samira (Amina Annabi), a beautiful gypsy woman he finds himself falling in love with. Losing the pig would mean losing many meals down the road, so to win Samira's good tidings, Courtois must prove the pig innocent -- which means finding the real killer. However, since the Seigneur is eager to see Courtois (or anyone, for that matter) marry his daughter Filette (Lysette Anthony), his affection for Samira may not be good for his future employment prospects. This period comedy/drama also features Donald Pleasance, Ian Holm, and Michael Gough. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

This comic excursion from Louis Malle is set in May 1968, concurrent with a series of Parisian student uprisings. After the death of family matriarch Mme. Vieuzac (Paulette Dubost), the survivors converge on the French countryside for her funeral; they include her two sons, Milou (Michel Piccoli) and Georges (Michel Duchaussoy); Camille (Miou-Miou), Milou's daughter; Camille's husband and children; and granddaughter Claire (Dominique Blanc), a lesbian. With the latest news of rebellion from Paris as their soundtrack, the family members argue over property, revive long-simmering arguments, and watch in dismay as an unlikely love affair begins. When the student uprising threatens to spill over into their community, the family heads for the hills, where the great outdoors only intensifies their reunion. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide

Based on a novel by author and BBC darling Dorothy L. Sayers, Strong Poison chronicles the adventures of Lord Peter Whimsey (Edward Petherbridge) and Harriet Vane (Harriet Walter), a novelist and detective who does an excellent job of getting under Whimsey's skin. The blurred line between their personal and work relationship rivals that of The X-Files' infamously tense crimefighting duo, and the partners find themselves trying (though not necessarily consciously) to solve more than the mysterious crime unraveling before them. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide