Mary Selway Movies
It's not often that casting directors receive the kind of high-profile recognition that actors and other above-the-line personalities do -- but then again, there aren't too many people in that line of work who can boast of the accomplishments made by top British casting professional Mary Selway. Often cited as one of Britain's top talents for matching the right actor with the right role, Selway used her sharp eye to fill roles in such acclaimed features as Raiders of the Lost Ark, A Dry White Season, Gosford Park, and Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. A native of Norwich, England, who enrolled at the Italia Conti stage school at the young age of 13, the aspiring talent defied her father's wishes of pursuing a more academic career to carve her own distinctive path in the entertainment industry. Though Selway was too much of a wallflower to command the boards, frequent modeling eventually led to work as a production assistant on television variety shows. Work in television and theater followed, with Selway eventually landing a job with top casting agent Miriam Brickman. In the decades that followed, Selway worked with such legendary filmmakers as Roman Polanski, Sydney Pollack, Steven Spielberg, and Robert Altman, among countless others -- contributing in no small part to the creation of some of the silver screen's most memorable characters. Plagued by recurring illness in her later years, Selway nevertheless continued working on such features as The Chronicles of Riddick and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire until she was physically able to work no more. In 2001, Selway was the recipient of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts' Michael Balcon Award for outstanding contribution to British film. On April 21, 2004, Mary Selway died of cancer in London. She was 68. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide- 2008
In lieu of a by-the-numbers Bollywood film, this Indian-produced effort from director Meneka Das represents a throwback to the arthouse-style films of Satyajit Ray and Bimal Roy. The tale unfurls in the 1970s, where Seth (Joe Anderson), the racially-mixed son of a Caucasian mother and Indian commissioner father, returns to India from school in Britain and experiences a joyous reunion with Asha (Meneka Das) a friend from childhood. Asha, as it turns out, was orphaned as a young girl, and happens to attend an all-girls' school where one of her teachers is Sheila (Helena Michell), Seth's mother. Over a short period of time, Seth and Asha's relationship blossoms from a renewed friendship into full romance, which draws the ire of both of Seth's parents and prompts them to interfere - thus setting the stage for tragedy. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joe Anderson, Meneka Das, (more)
- 2005
- PG13
- Add Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire to QueueAdd Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire to top of Queue
Directed by Mike Newell, the fourth installment to the Harry Potter series finds Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) wondering why his legendary scar -- the famous result of a death curse gone wrong -- is aching in pain, and perhaps even causing mysterious visions. Before he can think too much about it, however, Harry boards the train to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where he will attend his fourth year of magical education. Shortly after his reunion with his best friends, Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson), Harry is introduced to yet another Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher: the grizzled Mad-Eye Moody (Brendan Gleeson), a former dark wizard catcher who agreed to take on the infamous "DADA" professorship as a personal favor to Headmaster Dumbledore (Michael Gambon). Of course, Harry's wishes for an uneventful school year are almost immediately shattered when he is unexpectedly chosen, along with fellow student Cedric Diggory (Robert Pattinson), as Hogwarts' representative in the Tri-Wizard Tournament, which awards whoever completes three magical tasks the most skillfully with a thousand-galleon purse and the admiration of the international wizard community. As difficult as it is to deal with his schoolwork, friendships, and the tournament at the same time (not to mention his feelings toward the ever unfathomable Professor Snape (Alan Rickman), Harry doesn't realize that the most feared wizard in the world, Lord Voldemort, is anticipating the tournament, as well. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, (more)
Kevin Spacey serves as both director and star for this biopic based on the life and career of legendary entertainer Bobby Darin, which moves back and forth between his childhood and adult selves to tell the tale of his remarkable life. Born Bobby Cassotto and raised in the Bronx, young Bobby (played as a child by William Ullrich) was raised by his mother, Polly (Brenda Blethyn), his brother-in-law, Charlie (Bob Hoskins), and his sister, Nina (Caroline Aaron). At the age of 15, Bobby contracted a severe case of rheumatic fever, which was expected to take his life; while it left him with a weak heart, Bobby beat the odds and survived. Buoyed by a love of music passed along by his mother, Bobby learned to play several instruments and began singing as he recovered. Displaying a confidence and drive which stopped just short of arrogance, he adopted the stage name Bobby Darin and set his sights on becoming a star. After a string of hits as a rock & roll singer, Darin (played as an adult by Kevin Spacey) takes another gamble, and with the help of manager Steve Blauner (John Goodman) he reinvents himself as a supper-club vocalist in the manner of Frank Sinatra. All the more remarkably, he succeeds, and his swinging version of "Mack the Knife" tops the charts. Now a major singing star, Darin decides to take up acting; on the set of his first movie, he woos his female co-star Sandra Dee (Kate Bosworth), and despite the stern objections of her mother (Greta Scacchi), Bobby and Sandra wed. But after a string of successful movies for Dee and hit records and an Oscar nomination for Darin, the shifting tastes of the 1960s throw their careers off-track. Bobby cautiously embraces the new sounds of the day, but his old fans don't want to hear him cover Bob Dylan or the Rolling Stones, while the younger audience isn't interested in his new sound, leaving Darin in a difficult place to make his way back to stardom. Kevin Spacey did his own singing for Beyond the Sea, recreating Bobby Darin's vocal style with uncanny accuracy. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kevin Spacey, Kate Bosworth, (more)
William Makepeace Thackeray's witty assessment of the British class system, as seen through the experiences of one young woman, is brought to the screen with some serious star power in this period comedy drama. Becky Sharp (Reese Witherspoon) is a bright and ambitious girl born to a poor British family. Becky is determined to make something of herself however she can, and after accepting a job as a nanny for the children of the powerful and aristocratic Sir Pitt Crawley (Bob Hoskins), she wastes no time ingratiating herself with the family. Pretty Becky catches the eye of Crawley's handsome and eligible son Rawdon (James Purefoy), and becomes chummy with sharp-tongued Aunt Matilda (Eileen Atkins). Between the two of them, Becky is introduced to London's most exclusive social circle, where she becomes re-acquainted with Amelia Sedley (Romola Garai), a former school chum who is amused by Becky's efforts to scale the ladder of social influence. Becky weds Rawdon, but following initial happiness, the social and economic stability she dreamed of begins to collapse when he begins drowning his troubles in gambling and drink, and soon she turns to the powerful Marquess of Steyne (Gabriel Byrne) for support. Meanwhile, Amelia's fortunes fall even harder following the death of her husband. Vanity Fair was directed by Mira Nair, who enjoyed a surprise international success with 2002's Monsoon Wedding. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Reese Witherspoon, Romola Garai, (more)
Directed by Jonathan Frakes and based on the '60s British television series of the same name, Thunderbirds chronicles the intergalactic exploits of the Tracy family. Set in 2010, the world looks toward the mysterious Tracy Island when mere international security is not enough; the remote South Pacific island not only houses former astronaut and lifelong entrepreneur Jeff Tracy (Bill Paxton) and his five sons, but also serves as headquarters for the top-secret International Rescue organization. The unthinkable happens, however, when an insidious criminal mastermind known only as "The Hood" (Ben Kingsley) manages to get past the island's innumerable security measures and attempts to take over International Rescue. His goal: stealing the organization's five most advanced rescue vehicles, each of which was designed to accomplish a specific task, and using them for his own agenda. With Jeff and his four eldest sons deployed on a mission, there's only one person with any hope of stopping the takeover -- Jeff's youngest son, Alan (Brady Corbet), who vows to save his family and keep the Thunderbirds alive. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bill Paxton, Anthony Edwards, (more)
A man who lives for pleasure finds his hedonism betrays him in time in this film adaptation of the play by Stephen Jeffreys. The second Earl of Rochester, John Wilmot (Johnny Depp), was a notorious figure in 17th century Europe; well-respected as a poet and author, Wilmot also earned no small degree of gossip for his freewheeling sex life and appetite for decadence. Wilmot was close friends with Charles II (John Malkovich), the powerful and Machiavellian ruler of England, and enjoyed a passionate romance with Elizabeth Barry (Samantha Morton), an actress of note. But Wilmot's seemingly charmed life took a turn for the worse when he wrote a satirical play lampooning his friend Charles II; the monarch failed to see the humor, and exiled the author from Britain. Wilmot found little solace in his relationship with Barry, especially after he contracted syphilis and began drinking heavily as the disease tore away at his body and his mind. The Libertine was produced in part by John Malkovich, who played the role of John Wilmot in a production of Stephen Jeffreys' original play. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johnny Depp, John Malkovich, (more)
Enduring Love is director Roger Michell and screenwriter Joe Penhall's adaptation of Ian McEwan's acclaimed novel. Joe (Daniel Craig, who starred in Michell's previous film, The Mother), a college professor, is out on a romantic picnic with his long-time girlfriend, Claire (Samantha Morton), a sculptor. Joe seems about to propose marriage to Claire when their world is upended by a freak accident. A hot air balloon lands in the field behind them -- its passengers in obvious distress. Joe and a handful of other men run to help. Despite their efforts, a man falls to his death. Standing helplessly over his shattered body, Joe is joined by another would-be rescuer, Jed (Rhys Ifans, who co-starred in the director's Notting Hill), who suggests they kneel and pray. Joe, strictly a rationalist, does so reluctantly. Joe tries to get back to his routine, but he can't get the incident out of his head, and he is haunted by feelings of guilt and by ruminations about how things might have gone differently. Jed calls him out of the blue and urgently suggests that they meet. Jed soon makes it clear that he feels a connection to Joe that goes beyond their shared participation in the traumatic accident. He begins turning up everywhere Joe goes, sitting outside Joe's apartment at night. Worse yet, he insists that Joe is somehow sending him secret messages and leading him on. This potentially dangerous stalker begins to put a strain on Joe and Claire. As their relationship starts to disintegrate, Joe finds himself being pushed further and further from the rational, secure life he lived before that fateful day. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Daniel Craig
- 2003
- PG13
- Add Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World to QueueAdd Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World to top of Queue
Director Peter Weir's first turn behind the camera since 1998's critically acclaimed The Truman Show, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World is based on two Napoleanic War-era adventure novels in author Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin series, Master and Commander and The Far Side of the World. Russell Crowe stars as Captain Jack Aubrey, a high-seas adventurer who maintains a strong bond with ship-surgeon Stephen Maturin (Paul Bettany). After conquering much of Europe already, Napoleon's forces have set their sights on taking Britain, so Aubrey and the crew of his ship, the HMS Surprise, take to the Pacific to intercept any attacking ships from the French fleet. When Aubrey eyes a renegade French super-frigate, the Surprise pursues, leading to an adrenaline-charged chase through the distant reaches of the sea. Edward Woodall, James D'Arcy, and Lee Ingleby also star as members of the Surprise's crew. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Russell Crowe, Paul Bettany, (more)
All of London is in love -- or longing to be -- in Four Weddings and a Funeral writer Richard Curtis' first directorial effort. Billed as "the ultimate romantic comedy," Love Actually involves more than a dozen main characters, each weaving his or her way into another's heart over the course of one particularly eventful Christmas. The seemingly perfect wedding of Juliet (Keira Knightley) and Peter (Chiwetel Ejiofor) brings many of the principals together, including heartsick best man Mark (Andrew Lincoln), who harbors a very unrequited crush on Juliet. There's also recent widower Daniel (Liam Neeson), trying to help his lonely stepson Sam (Thomas Sangster) express his true feelings to a classmate. Across town, devoted working mother Karen (Emma Thompson) tries to rekindle the passion of her husband, Harry (Alan Rickman), who secretly pines for a young colleague of his. In the same office, the lonely Sarah (Laura Linney) not-so-secretly pines for a man just a few desks away (Rodrigo Santoro), who returns her affections but may not be able to dissuade her neuroses. Providing the unofficial soundtrack for all of the couples is an aging rocker (Bill Nighy) who just wants to cash in and get laid -- but even he might find a meaningful relationship in the most unlikely of places. A working print of Love Actually premiered at the 2003 Toronto International Film Festival. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alan Rickman, Bill Nighy, (more)
Hanif Kureishi wrote this drama about a woman whose late-blooming romance causes a serious rift with her family. May (Anne Reid) and Toots (Peter Vaughan) are an elderly couple who travel to London to visit their two grown children, Bobby (Steven Mackintosh) and Paula (Cathryn Bradshaw). While Bobby tries to be attentive to his parents, he's busy with his two young children, a major project at work, and completing some renovations on his large and expensive house, while his wife, Helen (Anna Wilson-Jones), shows little interest in her in-laws. Meanwhile, Paula is unsatisfied with her work and carries on an affair with Darren (Daniel Craig), a builder who is working on Bobby's home. When Toots suddenly dies, May moves in with Paula, but with Paula at work all day, she has little to do. Darren stops by Paula's flat periodically, and soon he strikes up a friendship with May; their conversations soon develop into flirtation, and before long, the two have become lovers, meeting regularly for afternoon trysts in Paula's spare room. While May's relationship with Darren makes her feel happier and more alive than she has in years, it leads to an ugly confrontation when Paula learns about the affair. The Mother was screened as part of the Director's Fortnight series at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anne Reid, Daniel Craig, (more)
A real-life historical incident becomes the basis for this military thriller from director Kathryn Bigelow that's reminiscent of such submarine dramas as Das Boot (1981), The Hunt for Red October (1990), Crimson Tide (1995), and U-571 (2000). Harrison Ford stars as Captain Alexi Vostrikov, a Russian naval officer who's being given command of the Soviet Union's first nuclear submarine, K-19, at the height of the Cold War in 1961. The vessel's previous commander, Captain Mikhail Polenin (Liam Neeson) has been demoted to executive officer following a botched test and his outspoken assertions that the flagship is not yet ready for deployment, but he curbs his resentment and resolves to serve his new superior well. Polenin's concerns are well founded: parts are not yet installed, equipment is missing, and the ship's doctor is killed in an auto mishap. Political pressure forces Vostrikov to sail his crew into the North Atlantic anyway, for a missile fire test that serves as a warning to the U.S. that its enemy is now its technological equal. The test is a success, but a disastrous leak in the K-19's reactor cooling system soon threatens to create enough heat to detonate the craft's nuclear payload -- which would certainly be mistaken for the first salvo in a worldwide atomic exchange and spark the beginning of World War III. With no other option, Vostrikov orders his men to repair the damage in ten-minute shifts, irradiating them hopelessly. The conflict between the seemingly bureaucratic Communist Vostrikov and the more humane Polenin escalates, until a surprising twist reveals where both officers' loyalties truly lie. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Harrison Ford, Liam Neeson, (more)
In Neil LaBute's film adaptation of A.S. Byatt's Booker Prize-winning 1990 novel, Aaron Eckhart (who has starred in all of LaBute's films) plays Roland Michell, an American academic researcher, working in London, who discovers some important letters written by a famous Victorian poet, Randolph Henry Ash (Jeremy Northam [Gosford Park]). Ash was presumed to have been totally devoted to his wife, but Roland finds letters written to another unnamed woman, and soon determines that the intended recipient was another, less well-known poet, Christabel LaMotte (Jennifer Ehle of Sunshine). Roland contacts Maud Bailey (Gwyneth Paltrow), an expert on LaMotte's life and work, who tells him that LaMotte couldn't have had an affair with Ash because she lived most of her life with a female companion, Blanche Glover (Lena Headey), in what was apparently a romantic relationship. Despite Maud's skepticism, the two begin to investigate, and uncover a wealth of information about the affair between the two poets. Period scenes of the illicit relationship between Ash and LaMotte are intercut with the contemporary investigation of the two academics. Roland and Maud initially fight their attraction to each other, but as the pair find more evidence of the historical and tragic romance, they find themselves overcoming their own resistance to romantic entanglement. Possession was kicked around as a film project for a long time before LaBute became interested. Director Sydney Pollack originally was slated to film a screenplay by David Henry Hwang (M. Butterfly), who receives a credit on the finished film. When LaBute took over the project years later, he reworked the screenplay with Laura Jones (The Portrait of a Lady). ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gwyneth Paltrow, Aaron Eckhart, (more)
The cool and mannered sociopath Tom Ripley returns to the big screen in director Liliana Cavani's 2002 crime thriller Ripley's Game, adapted from the 1974 novel by Patricia Highsmith. Living a life of luxury as an art dealer in northern Italy with his musician wife Luisa (Chiara Caselli), Ripley (John Malkovich) attends a party thrown by Jonathan Trevanny (Dougray Scott) and overhears the host making critical comments about Ripley's fashion sense. Enraged, Ripley immediately plots his retaliation for this slight, which comes via a reunion with his former business partner Reeves (Ray Winstone). Reeves seeks out Ripley's help in finding an unrecognized assassin to kill a Russian gangster, and Ripley suggests he talk to Trevanny -- whom Ripley knows has recently been diagnosed with leukemia and is also desperately strapped for cash. Trevanny reluctantly accepts the offer, in order to insure his family's security -- but is pressured into a repeat performance, which draws the ire of Ripley. The situation quickly spirals out of control to the point of drawing the attention -- and anger -- of the Russian mob, forcing Ripley to intervene. But the master criminal also develops a respect for his unwitting victim, forming an unlikely friendship under the most dire of circumstances. ~ Ryan Shriver, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Malkovich, Dougray Scott, (more)
The true story of a major breakthrough in intelligence technology created during World War II provides the backdrop for this blend of mystery, romance, and espionage, based on the novel by Robert Harris. Tom Jericho (Dougray Scott) is a gifted mathematician who is working with the British government on the development and maintenance of the Enigma machine, an electronic device that allows Allied intelligence agents to decode scrambled messages sent by Germany military officers. But the emotionally fragile Jericho is buckling under both the pressure of his work and the collapse of his relationship with Claire Romilly (Saffron Burrows), a co-worker with whom he's fallen deeply in love. After suffering a minor breakdown, Jericho is sent on a leave of absence, but when he returns to work, a crisis awaits: it seems the Germans have instituted a new code that the Enigma is not yet able to crack, and Jericho is needed to help unravel Axis communiqués before an important convoy of troops and materiel sets sail. It is also suspected that a German undercover agent has infiltrated the Enigma project, and Wigram (Jeremy Northam) is determined to ferret them out. In the midst of all this, Jericho receives troubling news that Claire has gone missing -- and that a file of German messages waiting to be decoded was found at her home. As Jericho works against the clock to crack the new German code, he forms an initially uneasy alliance with Hester Wallace (Kate Winslet), Claire's roommate and a fellow member of the Enigma project, as they try to discover Claire's whereabouts. Enigma was co-produced by Mick Jagger, who has a keen interest in the history of the real-life Enigma project, and even owns one of the original Enigma decoding machines. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dougray Scott, Kate Winslet, (more)
Maverick American filmmaker Robert Altman takes a witty and absorbing look at the foibles of the British class system in this intelligent murder mystery set in the early '30s. Sir William McCordle (Michael Gambon) and his wife Lady Sylvia (Kristin Scott Thomas) are a pair of wealthy British socialites who have invited a variety of friends, relatives, and acquaintances to their mansion in the country for a weekend of hunting and relaxation. Among the honored guests are Constance (Maggie Smith), Lady Sylvia's matronly aunt; Ivor Novello (Jeremy Northam), William's cousin who is also a well-known actor and songwriter; and Morris Weissman (Bob Balaban), an American film producer who is friendly with Ivor and researching an upcoming project. Observing the proceedings are the domestic staff of the mansion, including imperious butler Jennings (Alan Bates); footmen George (Richard E. Grant) and Arthur (Jeremy Swift); Probert (Derek Jacobi), a valet to Sir William; housekeeper Mrs. Wilson (Helen Mirren); Mrs. Croft (Eileen Atkins), who oversees the kitchen; and Elsie (Emily Watson), a maid. Also on hand are the guests' personal servants, including Mary (Kelly Macdonald), Constance's maid; Henry (Ryan Phillippe), Weissman's valet; and Parks (Clive Owens), a butler. While the servants are required to display a high level of decorum, they are expected to be passive observers who do not comment on what they see, though the gossip among them travels thick and fast once they retire to the servants' quarters downstairs. And it turns out that there's plenty worth gossiping about, especially after Sir William turns up dead, and everyone is ordered to stay at the mansion while the police investigate the killing. Gosford Park also features Charles Dance, Tom Hollander, Natasha Wightman, and Ron Webster; the screenplay was written by Julian Fellowes, based on a story by Altman and co-star Bob Balaban. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maggie Smith, Michael Gambon, (more)
Louis de Bernières' best-selling novel of love during wartime is brought to the screen in this story that blends comedy, action, and romance. In 1940, war rages throughout Europe, but the fighting has yet to arrive on the Greek island of Cephallonia, where life continues to follow its own slow, deliberate path until word arrives that Italian troops have invaded neighboring Albania. A wave of anti-Axis patriotism sweeps the island, and Mandras (Christian Bale), a local fisherman, is one of a handful of men who volunteer for the army, leaving behind his aging mother (Irene Papas) and the woman he loves, Pelagia (Penélope Cruz), the daughter of the island's physician, Dr. Iannis (John Hurt). The timing of Mandras and his compatriots proves less than fortuitous, as Italian troops invade Greece in their absence, but the remaining leaders of the island issue an ultimatum -- the people of Cephallonia will surrender, but only to a ranking German officer. Since none of the available German officers can speak a word of Greek, an Italian soldier fluent in the language, Capt. Antonio Corelli (Nicholas Cage), is sent in to serve as translator. Corelli stays on with the Greek occupation forces, and he soon finds himself falling in love with beautiful Pelagia, who believes that Mandras was killed in the fighting in Albania. But as romance slowly blooms between the Italian soldier and the Greek girl, Mandras and a handful of surviving soldiers have joined a guerilla resistance faction, and they join up with Allied forces in a bid to retake Greece; soon, Pelagia must choose between the two men she loves, as the Greeks battle both the Italian occupation troops and German soldiers who have been sent in to replace them. Captain Corelli's Mandolin was directed by John Madden; the project originally began shooting with Roger Michell, but Michell was forced to resign from the film after he suffered a heart attack. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nicolas Cage, Penélope Cruz, (more)
Stanislav Sokolov and Derek Hayes direct this claymation version of the The King of Kings using the voice talents of such well-regarded British actors as David Thewlis, Miranda Richardson, Alfred Molina, Ian Holm -- and Ralph Fiennes as Jesus. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ralph Fiennes, Michael Bryant, (more)
- 2000
Recalling François Girard's The Red Violin, Canone Inverso - Making Love is a multi-layered, multi-generational tale of music, fate, and passion. Based on the novel by Paolo Maurensig, the film opens in pre-WWII Europe, where Jeno, a half-Jewish boy, lives in relative poverty with his mother. His father, who abandoned his wife and son, left them with only a rare violin and a canone inverso, a traditional composition written for two instruments. During Jeno's (Hans Matheson) adolescence, his mother dies, and in the wake of her death, he is drawn to Sophie Levy (Melanie Thierry), a married, French Jewish pianist with whom he develops a close relationship. At Sophie's encouragement, Jeno applies for a scholarship to a music conservatory; there, he meets David Blau (Lee Williams), an aristocratic cad who becomes a great influence in Jeno's life. When Jeno is expelled from the school for being Jewish, David quits in protest and takes his friend back to his father's estate. It is at the estate that Jeno discovers a piece of music written by David's father that sparks a revelation about his family heritage -- and his connections to David and Sophie. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gabriel Byrne, Domiziana Giordano, (more)
In this light comedy directed by British writer-comedian Ben Elton, Sam and Lucy Bell (Hugh Laurie and Joely Richardson) are an upwardly mobile London couple who are trying desperately to conceive a baby. Along for the ride, which is laden with sperm-count and hormone-injection jokes, is a cast that reads like a Who's Who in British comedy. Rowan Atkinson makes an appearance as an obstetrician, Dawn French and Joanna Lumley show up as an Australian nurse and Lucy's snooty boss, and Emma Thompson has a stint as a New Age health freak. Adrian Lester and Tom Hollander also co-star, the latter as a Brit-loathing Scottish director. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rowan Atkinson, Dawn French, (more)
Can a beautiful and internationally famous American actress find happiness with a frumpy British bookstore clerk? She can -- at least for a while, it seems -- in Notting Hill. William Thacker (played by Hugh Grant) is a bookseller at a shop in the Notting Hill district in West London, who shares a house with an eccentric Welsh friend, Spike (Rhys Ifans). One day, William is minding the store when in strolls Anna Scott (Julia Roberts), a lovely and well-known actress from the United States who is in London working on a film. She buys a book from William, and she is polite and charming in the way a famous actress would be with a star-struck sales clerk. Their relationship would logically end there, if William didn't run out a few minutes later to buy some juice. While dashing back to the shop, he bumps into Anna on the street, spilling juice all over her blouse. Since he lives nearby, William politely offers to let her stop by his house to clean up; since William seems harmless enough, Anna agrees. When Anna has to stop back to pick up a bag she left at William's house, they kiss -- just in time for Spike to show up. A romance slowly blooms as his friends and family (not to mention the world at large) wonder out loud what he's doing dating a movie star. Notting Hill reunites Hugh Grant with producer Duncan Kenworthy and screenwriter Richard Curtis, who previously worked together on the international hit Four Weddings And A Funeral. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Julia Roberts, Hugh Grant, (more)
Another member of the Fiennes family leaves a mark in the film business, as Martha Fiennes makes her big-screen directorial debut with a screen adaptation of the verse novel by Aleksander Pushkin, with her big brother Ralph Fiennes in the leading role. Onegin (Fiennes) is a blase man who has grown weary of the social whirl of his life in St. Petersburg in the 1820s. Onegin's wealthy uncle has recently passed on, bequeathing him a large estate in the country, where the financially embarrassed Onegin has now chosen to live. Onegin makes fast friends with his neighbor Lensky (Toby Stephens), who introduces Onegin to his fiancée Olga (Lena Headley). Olga in turn introduces him to her mother (Harriet Walker) and her younger sister, Tatyana (Liv Tyler). Onegin finds Tatyana interesting, and she is strongly infatuated with him, finding him coolly attractive and enjoying his straightforward way of expressing himself. Tatyana makes her feelings known to Onegin in a love letter, but he calmly rejects her advances. Lensky senses Tatyana's attraction to Onegin and talks to him about her; Lensky is shocked when Onegin says he regards her as unintelligent, and in a moment of anger Lensky challenges his friend to a duel. Neither man wants to kill the other, but both are too stubborn to back down, and Onegin ends up shooting Lensky, forcing him to flee to parts unknown. Six years later, a older and more humble Onegin re-encounters the married Tatyana and begs her for a second chance. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ralph Fiennes, Liv Tyler, (more)
- 1999
- NR
In 1916, the British Army suffered their bloodiest and most severe defeat ever in the Battle of the Somme; The Trench focuses on the awful prelude to the battle as seen through the eyes of a group of inexperienced soldiers. Billy Macfarlane (Paul Nicholls) is a 17-year-old boy who joined the Army to fight alongside his older brother Eddie (Tam Williams), whom he worships. As the members of their platoon wait for fighting to commence, Eddie climbs up on a hill to see what the German forces are up to. He's immediately hit by sniper fire, suffering a severe injury, and soon another man in the unit is killed. Suddenly the ugly reality of battle has been introduced to the soldiers, few of whom are out of their teens. While their commanders inform them bombing has wiped out most of the enemy troops, the continued attacks convince them this may not be the truth. The Trench marked the directorial debut of novelist William Boyd, whose books have often dealt with the First World War. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Nicholls, Daniel Craig, (more)
Marshall Herskovitz directed this look at life in 16th-century Venice, based on Margaret Rosenthal's 1994 book The Honest Courtesan. Positioned outside of the Venetian court, Veronica Franco (Catherine McCormack) hopes to rise above her station, but her interest in nobleman's son Marco Venier (Rufus Sewell) is blocked since his parents forbid their marriage. Following the path taken by her mother, Paola (Jacqueline Bisset), Veronica becomes a courtesan, finding this gives her a niche in the male-dominated society. When Vatican emissaries accuse her of witchcraft, she lashes back, using the trial as a feminist forum to expose the hypocrisies of the period. Filmed in 1996 in Venice and Rome with a variety of working titles (Courtesan, Venice, and The Honest Courtesan). ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Catherine McCormack, Rufus Sewell, (more)
Nick Hamm (Talk of Angels) directed this U.K. romantic comedy following a group of British blokes and their encounters with an American woman in London. As Laurence (Joseph Fiennes, brother of Ralph Fiennes) narrates the tale to his neighbor, Dr. Pedersen (Ray Winstone), the scene flashes back to three days earlier: Laurence's friend Daniel (Tom Hollander) is in the Minneapolis airport on a business trip when he spots blonde Martha (Monica Potter of Con Air) buying a "first flight to anywhere." Daniel sits next to her on the plane and makes a London lunch date with her for the following day, but she's a no-show. He expresses his disappointment to Laurence and unemployed actor Frank (Rufus Sewell of Cold Comfort Farm). Frank meets Martha accidentally in a park, realizes who she is, learns she's in love and she intends to fly back to the U.S., and then makes a move on her (without telling her he knows Daniel). He loses track of her at an art gallery. Later, Laurence reveals that when he missed meeting Daniel at the airport, he wound up meeting Martha instead -- a moment of mutual love. At this point, much like the structure of Stanley Kubrick's The Killing (1956), the time is reset and previous events are repeated -- from the POV of another character. The movie is only two-thirds complete when Laurence finishes his recap of the previous three days -- so the story continues from that point. Shown at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Monica Potter, Rufus Sewell, (more)
Irish director Pat O'Connor helmed this adaptation of Brian Friel's 1990 play which won three Tony awards in addition to UK Olivier and Evening Standard awards. Friel's portrait of five Irish sisters takes place in 1936 on a Donegal farm. The unmarried Mundy sisters are barely surviving. Middle-aged schoolteacher Kate (Meryl Streep) is the eldest, overseeing pretty Christina (Catherine McCormack), lively Maggie (Kathy Burke, re-creating her Tony award-winning role), reliable Agnes (Brid Brennan), and Rose (Sophie Thompson), who has a secret affair with a married man. Christina is the mother of eight-year-old Michael (Darrell Johnston), beneficiary of much attention from his four aunts. The story of a turning-point summer is told in retrospect by the adult Michael and begins when the sisters welcome their older brother Jack (Michael Gambon) as he returns home from missionary work in Africa. Michael's father Gerry Evans (Rhys Ifans) makes an unexpected arrival, winning back both Michael and mom before joining the International Brigade to fight Franco in Spain. Kate loses her teaching position, and the sister's income from their handwoven clothing is threatened by the announced opening of a woolens factory. Shown at 1998 fests (Venice, Toronto). ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Meryl Streep, Michael Gambon, (more)
