Penny Downie Movies
Produced for HBO, the Capraesque romantic comedy The Girl in the Café stars Bill Nighy as Lawrence, a mild and unprepossessing British civil servant assigned to his country's delegation at the G8 Summit in Reykjavik, Iceland. Although he'd resigned himself to a life of lonely bachelorhood, Lawrence finds himself drawn to Gina (Kelly MacDonald), a odd, outspoken young woman whom he has met in a café. On a whim, the shy Lawrence invites the decidedly un-shy Gina to accompany him to Reykjavik. The burgeoning relationship between these two seemingly mismatched souls is counterpointed by the political jockeying at the conference, where the avowed purpose of G8 -- to adopt the all-important Millennium Development Goals as a means of reducing world poverty -- is obscured by egomania, xenophobia, and foot-dragging. Ultimately, the time comes when both Lawrence and Gina must make crucial decisions, with not only their own future but also the future of humankind in the balance. Written by Richard Curtis of Four Weddings and a Funeral fame, The Girl in the Café first aired on June 25, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bill Nighy, Kelly MacDonald, (more)
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
- Starring:
- Hugh Bonneville, Stephen Dillane, (more)
- 1998
Three women who are viewed with suspicion by their neighbors become the center of an investigation with deadly consequences in this made-for-TV drama. Anne (Kitty Aldridge), Diana (Frances Barber), and Phoebe (Penny Downie) share a large old estate in a quiet rural community. The women are reclusive and are shunned by many of the townspeople -- partially because they're believed to be lesbians, and partly because the husband of one of the women disappeared under mysterious circumstances ten years ago. When a dead body is found in the ice house on the women's property, the same police detective who investigated the decade old missing-persons case is sent in to see if foul play is afoot; he was certain that the wife was responsible for her husband's disappearance before, and this time he's determined to put her behind bars. Based on the novel by Minette Walters, The Ice House was originally produced by the BBC and first aired in the United States on the PBS series Mystery! ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1998
Lost for Words is a poignant autobiography of Deric Longden's relationship with his aging and eccentric mother, Annie. The opening scene depicts Annie as an opinionated, never-at-a-loss-for-words character who insists upon running the show, even going so far as choosing her own Mother's Day card and dictating how mundane chores should be performed. But everything changes when a debilitating stroke suddenly silences her. The heartwarming story, a son-to-mother tribute, traces the difficult care-giving decisions that Deric and his wife, writer Aileen Armitage, faced as the courageous Annie's health failed. The cast includes Thora Hird as Annie, Pete Postlethwaite as Deric, and Penny Downie as Aileen Longden. Lost for Words is a sequel to Deric Longden's 1994 autobiographical story, "Wide Eyed and Legless". ~ Kathleen Wildasin, All Movie Guide
- 1997
In this British-French co-production, assistant bank manager Alex (Richard E. Grant), a part-time theater instructor, decides to contact the original cast of a Twelfth Night production he directed years previously in a small English village. Alex plans to restage the production, and old romances are rekindled in the process. Shown at the 1997 Edinburgh and La Baule film festivals. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard E. Grant, Nathalie Baye, (more)
Gore combines with dry British wit in this whodunit. After brilliant, successful defense attorney Venetia Aldridge (Penny Downie) is found murdered in her court chambers, it's anybody's guess who killed her; a controversial personality who didn't hesitate to mince words around her male colleagues, Aldridge made a number of enemies. It's up to Scotland Yard's formidable Commander Adam Dalgliesh (Roy Marsden) to solve her murder. Adapted from the celebrated novel by P.D. James. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roy Marsden
Based on the P.D. James novels, this mystery miniseries follows the investigations of Commander Adam Dalgliesh (Roy Marsden). Also starring Penny Downie and Wendy Hiller. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roy Marsden
- 1987
- PG
A novice knight and his unlikely allies lead a crusade against evil in this adventure set in 12th century France. Robert Nerra (Eric Stoltz) is a young knight who, after the death of his older brother, abandons the struggle to defend his father's property in a skirmish over land rights and instead sets out to offer his services to King Richard the Lionhearted. As Nerra makes his way through a France racked with poverty and sickness, he encounters a group of orphans who are trying to flee from the Black Prince (Gabriel Byrne), a dark-clad rogue knight who steals children and sells them to Arab slave merchants. At first thinking him to be King Richard himself, the children follow Nerra, and he tries to protect and organize them as best he can. As they march through France, the orphans' numbers grow, and soon Nerra finds himself leading a crusade of children as he at once leads them to safety and fights off the Black Prince's forces. Lionheart was one of the final films from veteran director Franklin J. Schaffner; the film received an unfortunately short-lived theatrical release and went largely unseen until it was released on home video in 1990, a year after Schaffner's death. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eric Stoltz, Gabriel Byrne, (more)
In a novel and intriguing approach to storytelling, director David Hare has created an engaging mystery and human drama that ostensibly focuses on an innocent dinner party but is really about something else. Jean Travers (Vanessa Redgrave) is an old-maid schoolmarm who has lived in Wetherby, a small town in northeastern Yorkshire, all of her life. She is still haunted by memories of a passionate love affair with a young man who was later murdered while on military duty in Malaysia nearly 35 years ago in the '50s. One evening, Jean invites a group of friends over for dinner; the group is comprised of two couples, one of which spends the time sniping at each other. A young man, John Morgan (Tim McInnerny) is also in the dinner party. Jean thinks he was brought along by one of the couples; the couples, in turn, believe he was invited by Jean -- in short, he is a total stranger that everyone assumes is a friend of someone there. As the evening progresses, political topics of the moment are brought up and chewed over; Margaret Thatcher, Richard Nixon, and other notables of the era are discussed, and various comments are made on the laziness of today's youth. The dinner party ends, and the next day John Morgan comes back to visit Jean. While she is in the midst of preparing tea for them both, he takes out a gun and kills himself. The shock waves from his senseless act later reverberate among the dinner-party guests, as the police investigator tries to piece together the man's background and the dinner party itself. Questions are raised about his motives, and viewers see the dinner party again, moment by moment, in an entirely new light. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vanessa Redgrave, Ian Holm, (more)
- 1982
In this sci-fi film a sophisticated computer develops its own mind and begins asking difficult moral questions of its inventor and his wife. The inventor begins spending many hours debating with his creation and the wife gets jealous. The computer's own morality is questioned after it witnesses a murder. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gary Day, Penny Downie, (more)
