Angela Pope Movies
- 1996
- R
Violence and anti-gay prejudice combine to make a heated custody battle all the more ugly in this tense domestic drama. Hannah Wyatt (Joely Richardson) is a single mother who lives with her nine-year-old son Oliver (Sam Bould) and her boyfriend Frank Donally (Jason Flemyng). Hannah was married to Martyn (Martin Donovan), but their relationship ended bitterly when Martyn chose to finally acknowledge his homosexuality and left her to move in with his lover Tom Dixon (Ian Hart). Oliver has suffered several unexplained injuries in recent months, and one day Hannah comes home from work to discover that Frank has severely wounded Oliver's hand when he lashed out with violence over a minor bit of misbehavior. Hannah kicks Frank out of the house, but when he returns -- tearfully begging forgiveness and claiming he'll never hurt Oliver again -- she takes him back. Martyn learns of Frank's violence against his son, and she sues to have full custody of Oliver for the sake of the child's safety. However, Hannah is terrified of both losing her son and being left without a man in her life; she and Frank join forces in court against Martyn, using his homosexuality as their chief weapon against him and trying to poison Oliver's mind with homophobia against his father. Hollow Reed's soundtrack features selections recorded for the film by Elvis Costello, Annie Lennox, and Paul Weller. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Martin Donovan, Joely Richardson, (more)
This dramatic love story takes place in a British prison. Rachel, a young dentist, decides to take a part-time job at a nearby prison after she and her husband are separated. There, she meets Philip, whose ten-year incarceration for killing his girlfriend is almost up. Rachel and Philip fall in love, which is a breach of Rachel's professional contract. Towler, fellow inmate and former drug dealer, finds out and blackmails Rachel into bringing contraband to prison. When Rachel learns that she is to bring a gun to Towler, she changes her mind, but as she tries to leave she finds herself a target in a shoot-out. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim Roth, Julia Ormond, (more)
- 1992
Peter Capaldi essayed the title role in the three-part British miniseries Mr. Wakefield's Crusade. Fabulously wealthy, old Mr. Wakefield became bored by his life of leisure and privilege, and began seeking out adventure. He got more than he bargained for when he turned amateur sleuth to solve the murder of his best friend's wife. Also starring Miranda Richardson, Mr. Wakefield's Crusade was beamed out by BBC2 in 1992. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1987
In this drama, a husband strays with a drug-addict student and comes home HIV positive. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
