Gillian Barge Movies

First telecast in the U.K. on February 17, 2002, the five-part British miniseries The Jury probes the workings of justice from the viewpoint of the 12 men and women chosen to determine the fate of a Sikh teenager, accused of murdering a white classmate with a ceremonial sword. This racially volatile situation is first placed in the hands of renowned attorney George Cording (Derek Jacobi), who is defending young Duvinder Singh (Sonnell Dadral), and relentless crown prosecutor Gerald Lewis (Antony Sher), better known as "The Bastard of the Bailey." But as mentioned, the focus is on the jurors, as diverse a group as one is ever likely to meet. Among the selected dozen are Rose (Helen McCrory), an unhappily married beautician; Johnnie (Gerard Butler), a recovering alcoholic; Marcia (Nina Sosanya), a single mother who tends to allow herself to be intimidated into making snap judgments; Peter (Michael Maloney), a brusque self-made businessman; Charles (Stuart Bunce), a Catholic seminarian uncertain of his calling; Elsie (Sylvia Syms), a lonely old widow; and Jeremy (Nicholas Farrell), a chronic gambler. How will the jurors' personalities affect the outcome of the case -- or, for that matter, the dissemination of facts? For its United States premiere on April 6, 2003, The Jury was beamed out by PBS as part of the Masterpiece Theatre anthology. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This historical drama is based on the true story of controversial medical pioneer Franz Anton Mesmer. In 18th century Vienna, Mesmer (Alan Rickman) believes that many of the favored medical treatments of the day -- most notoriously the inducement of bleeding to remove harmful "humors" from the body -- are both dangerous and ineffective to the patients they are intended to treat. Mesmer believes that gentler methods could have a more positive impact on his patients. Believing in what he calls "animal magnetism," Mesmer uses magnetic currents and the power of suggestion to treat patients; the medical establishment of the time regards him as a lunatic, so he performs most of his treatments on the poor, who cannot afford to pay a doctor, forcing Mesmer's well-to-do wife (Gillian Barge) to support the family. Mesmer receives a great deal of publicity when well-known pianist Maria Theresa Paradies (Amanda Ooms) suffers a severe seizure during a recital; while several physicians in attendance want to submit Paradies to an immediate bleeding, Mesmer applies his magnetism techniques, which prove to be effective in calming the young woman. Paradies was tremendously grateful to Mesmer and began seeing him regularly as a patient; she soon developed an emotional attachment to the doctor that became something of a public scandal. In time, the public's anger over Mesmer's unorthodox techniques and his perceived affair with Paradies forced him to leave Vienna for Paris, where he became the toast of the city's wealthy and privileged -- until the French medical community demanded that Mesmer prove the effectiveness of his techniques. Noted playwright Dennis Potter wrote the screenplay. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

This informative look at T.E. Lawrence at the 1919 Paris Peace Conference, as he serves as the liaison to the Hashemite delegation in an effort to have the Allies agree to Arab independence. ~ All Movie Guide

Singleton (Ian Holm) is a determined British farmer with a gaggle of holiday geese ready for market. It should be a simple task for Singleton to get his honking cargo to town, but it isn't. For starters, his drivers have gone on strike, so Singleton must take the geese himself. The hundred-mile trek to market is fraught with peril and hilarity, and by the time Singleton is halfway there, he's become a national hero. A fond hark back to the Ealing Studios comedies of yore, Singleton's Pluck is a captivating paean to the unquenchability of the human spirit, expertly realized by Ian Holm. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

National Health, or Nurse Norton's Affair is an antic filmization of Peter Nichols' play, originally staged by Britain's National Theatre. A scattershot satire of the red tape and inconsistencies of England's National Health program, the film is set in the men's ward of an old, crumbling hospital. Moments of lunatic farce dovetail into scenes of blood-drenched human tragedy, leading one wag to label this film Carry on Dying. The film's highlight is a lachrymose lampoon of TV medical soap operas. The cast of National Health is comprised of some of the most polished farceurs in the British isles. Nurse Norton is played by Lynn Redgrave (who ironically later starred in the American hospital-based sitcom House Calls), while other key roles are filled by TV comedienne Eleanor Bron, Carry On alumnus Jim Dale and future Who Framed Roger Rabbit? star Bob Hoskins. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide