Peter Donaldson Movies
- 2001
Based on fact, the made-for-TV drama Jewel begins in 1945, a time when children afflicted with Down Syndrome were casually and cruelly dismissed as "Mongoloid Idiots." Already a mother with four healthy, normal children, 40-year-old Mississippi woman Jewel Hilburn (Farrah Fawcett) gives birth to daughter Brenda Kay, a Down's baby who will forever be challenged both mentally and physically. Urged by the local authorities to surrender Brenda Kay to an institution, Jewel defies the "experts" and packs herself and her family off to Los Angeles, where she hopes that her daughter will have a better chance at a normal life. But in her zeal to shower affection and attention on her "different little girl", Jewel sorely strains her relationships with her husband Leston (Patrick Bergin) and her other four kids. Cicely Tyson makes what the CBS publicity flacks labeled a "special appearance" in the role of a loving caregiver named Cathedral. Based on the novel by Bret Lott, Jewel originally aired February 7, 2001. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2000
The fine line between reporters objectively covering a political campaign and attempting to sway its outcome is explored in this made-for-cable drama based on the novel by noted television journalist Jim Lehrer. Newspaper columnist Mike Howley (James Garner) is asked to moderate a nationally televised debate between two presidential candidates. In collusion with fellow newspeople and debate panelists Barbara Manning (Audra McDonald), Henry Ramirez (Marco Sanchez), and Joan Naylor (Donna Murphy), Howley formulates a plan to boost the campaign of the Democratic candidate, whom they favor. They ask the Republican nominee a number of pointed questions about unsubstantiated charges that he has a propensity for violence, eventually prompting the candidate to leave the stage in a huff after throwing a microphone. Several weeks later, the Democrat carries the election. While the debate served the goals of the reporters, and boosted their public image, some observers have serious questions about what went on, and investigative reporter Tom Chapman (Peter Gallagher) is determined to bring the public the truth. A number of noted journalists and political figures served as consultants for The Last Debate and appear in cameo roles. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Garner, Peter Gallagher, (more)
On a remote island in Nova Scotia, teenaged Claire (Julia Brendler) slowly befriends Celia (Lynn Redgrave), an eccentric novelist who is working on a manuscript. The manuscript, which is set a half-century ago, tells the story of Silly (Kirsten Dunst), a young woman who tried to leave the island with the son (Trent Ford) of a WWII naval officer. Deeply cuts between past and present, contrasting the lives of the characters in the manuscript with those of Claire and Celia. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kirsten Dunst, Lynn Redgrave, (more)
Campbell Scott stars in this zany send-up of '50s body-snatching, alien invasion flicks. Scott plays Dr. Karel Lamonte, a pipe-smoking atomic scientist fresh from the Atomic Academy, who finds himself in the small town of Exceptional Vista -- situated somewhere between Fetus and New Imbroglio -- just before a large meteor strikes the local TV tower. Does this herald the beginning of a bizarre alien invasion? The town is littered with unusual characters: Sandy (Fiona Loewi) has an unnervingly close relationship with her brother, Guy (Tom Everett Scott); the town's sole policeman (Hardee T. Lineham) seems more interested in spanking Sandy than in solving crimes; and the mayor (Bernard Behrens) is a religious fanatic who claims that the aliens were sent from God to punish us for watching TV. When freshly gnawed-upon corpses start appearing at the edge of town, Dr. Lamonte responds like any other red-blooded atomic scientist: he bathes with a naked, inflatable likeness of himself. Top of the Food Chain was screened at the 1999 Vancouver Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Campbell Scott, Fiona Loewi, (more)
- 1996
This slightly abridged version of Eugene O'Neill's classic play was originally staged by director David Wellington at the prestigious Stratford Festival in Canada. In order to better fit the unusually designed stage at the Tom Patterson Theatre where the production was staged, Wellington utilized minimal sets. To maintain a keen emotional edge, he filmed the play in sequence. The somewhat autobiographical story chronicles the strife within a dysfunctional Irish family. The mother is a morphine addict; the cheapskate father is an alcoholic. Their sons are caught in the middle between the couple's endless struggles as is the family maid. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
