Alison Barnett Movies

A trio of orphans becomes embroiled in a mysterious and long-running lawsuit in this sprawling BBC adaptation of the Charles Dickens novel. A legend in the legal circles of Victorian London, the messy inheritance case of Jarndyce and Jarndyce has been trickling through the courts for years with no end in sight. Nobleman John Jarndyce (Denis Lawson) has seen the case destroy more than one life, so when he becomes guardian to three young people -- beautiful Ada Clare (Carey Mulligan), Ada's cousin Richard Carstone (Patrick Kennedy), and her devoted companion, Esther Summerson (Anna Maxwell Martin) -- he vows to shield them from its pernicious effects by bringing them to the safety of his estate, the eponymous Bleak House. Richard, however, becomes obsessed with the unattainable Jarndyce inheritance, to the detriment of his career and mental health. Esther, meanwhile, remains haunted by her origins; the product of a scandalous pregnancy, she was raised by her aunt and knows nothing about her dead mother's identity. Meanwhile, imperious noblewoman Lady Dedlock (Gillian Anderson) plots to hide the evidence of her own mysterious past -- a quest that leads her to the intrigue surrounding Jarndyce and Jarndyce. She is but one of dozens of characters who find themselves drawn into the lawsuit's web of corruption, blackmail, and murder. Bleak House debuted October 27, 2005, on BBC One. It received its U.S. premiere on January 22, 2006, on PBS's Masterpiece Theatre, where the 15 British episodes were combined into six longer blocks. Britain's Royal Television Society named the series Best Drama Serial of 2005. A previous adaptation of Dickens' novel ran on Masterpiece Theatre in 1985. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

Premiering May 13, 2002, on BBC1, the British espionage-adventure series Spooks pitted undercover agents of the country's MI-5 squad (the U.K. equivalent of the NSA) against international troublemakers and terrorists. Though extremely violent and almost unbearably tense, the series scored its biggest points by dramatizing the pressures brought to bear against "average" people engaged in a top-secret profession: For example, one of the many plot threads involved the love life of Senior Case Officer Tom Quinn (Matthew MacFadyen), whose girlfriend was convinced that Tom was merely a lower-level computer tech. Other members of the "Spooks" team included Quinn's second-in-command, Zoe Reynolds (Keeley Hawes), technical genius Danny Hunter (David Oyelowo), reckless Tessa Phillips (Jenny Agutter), and department head Harry Pierce (Peter Firth). During the series' first season on the air, Spooks made headlines throughout the British Isles by virtue of its explosive second episode, in which a popular soap opera actor, misleadingly advertised as one of the series' "stars," was abruptly and nastily killed off; thereafter, audiences could never take anything that happened on the series for granted -- and the viewership soared. Spooks debuted over the American A&E cable network under the title MI-5 on July 22, 2003. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the summer of 1937, wealthy timber importer William Cazalet (Frederick Treves) and his wife, Kitty (Ursula Howells), host their children -- Hugh, Edward, Rupert, and Rachel -- and grandchildren for an extended holiday at William's idyllic Sussex estate. At dinner, William invites Rupert (Paul Rhys), a struggling artist, to join his other two sons, Hugh and Edward, in his thriving firm. Idealistic Rupert declines the offer. While attempting to justify his decision to his self-centered wife, Zoe (Joanna Page), whom he married after his first wife died, Rupert also must cope with his adolescent daughter's resentment of her stepmother. Meanwhile, rumors of war with Germany unsettle the family, and they monitor radio broadcasts closely. Hugh (Hugh Bonneville) knows well the perils of soldiery. In the Great War, he lost the use of his left hand and suffered a head injury that causes recurring headaches. His wife, Sybil (Anastasia Hille), worries about him, and he in turn worries about her, especially when her health mysteriously declines. Edward (Stephen Dillane), on the other hand, worries only about getting caught cheating on his wife, Villy (Lesley Manville), who is pregnant. His lustful behavior becomes truly detestable when he gropes his own daughter. His sister, spinster Rachel (Catherine Russell), is his opposite: reserved, always thinking of others. But a secret longing distresses her, and she vies with it in silence. Meanwhile, Villy, Zoe, and Edward's mistress all become pregnant; Sybil develops cancer; Rupert enlists when the Nazis go on the march; and a nephew comes to the Cazalet estate to escape his autocratic father. The war, familial conflict, and Sybil's illness test the family as never before. The final two hours of the six-hour saga reveal whether the Cazalets have the mettle to choose selflessness over self. ~ Mike Cummings, All Movie Guide

A murder mystery gets revisited when a writer (Caroline Goodall) is assigned to cover the story of Olive Martin (Pauline Quirke), who confessed to and was convicted of the brutal murders of her mother and sister. Due to the cruel condition of the bodies, Olive became known as "the Sculptress." Convinced, despite Olive's attesting otherwise, that she is innocent, the writer works with a former police officer (Christopher Fulford) to try to find the truth. The film was originally broadcast as two 90-minute episodes of Masterpiece Theater. ~ Sarah Sloboda, All Movie Guide