Sue Johnston Movies

A lonely English housewife falls into a torrid affair that sends shockwaves through the rest of her life in this romantic drama inspired by a true story. Betty (Billie Piper) is a young mother from Leeds stuck in a passionless marriage. But Betty soon finds the ecstasy that's been missing from her life when she falls for Alex, her handsome Polish neighbor. And before long, Betty's unstoppable lust has become all consuming. Thirty years later, as Betty's son prepares to get married, her past transgressions threaten to unravel her entire life as she watches helplessly. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

This quirky British sitcom follows the lives of the local Women's Guild in picturesque Clatterford, a cozy village in the English countryside where opinions are strong, and nobody's afraid to share them. The series stars Maggie Steed, as the head of the guild, and Dawn French as a peculiar worker in the local cheese factory. ~ Cammila Collar, Rovi

The second British TV miniseries based on the semi-autobiographical stories of H.E. Bates, My Uncle Silas 2 was, like its predecessor, built around the exploits of a cantankerous, imbibing, and slightly libidinous farm laborer of the early 1900s. The series was told from the viewpoint of young Edward (Joe Prospero), who had recently come to live with his roguish Uncle Silas (Albert Finney) in England's North Country. In the tradition of the original Uncle Silas, this series was inspired by five separate Bates short stories. In "Shandy Lil," Silas tried to pair off the titular Lil (Sandy McDade) with the shy Pikey (Tony Maudsley); in "The Race," Silas challenged archrival Goffy Windsor (Tim Preece) to a five-mile foot race; in "A Funny Thing," Silas' efforts to match wits with his worldly cousin Cosmo (Oliver Ford Davies) found him posing for an exceedingly amorous female sculptor; in "Finger Wet, Finger Dry," our hero was enmeshed in a compromising situation with the wife (Lesley Dunlop) of the local police constable (Gary Wheelan); and in "A Happy Man," it's Silas vs. old campaigner Walter (Bryan Pringle) at the annual flower show. Originally telecast by Yorkshire Television in 2001, My Uncle Silas 2 premiered as a component of the American PBS anthology Masterpiece Theatre on January 12, 2003. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

British director Suri Kishnamma follows his quiet character study A Man of No Importance (1994) with this raucous feel-good suicide-pact comedy-drama. The film opens with buddies Jake (Andrew Lee Potts) and Steven (Robby Barry) enjoying a little joie de vivre on French ski slopes during a school holiday until a freak avalanche kills everyone in their high school class except, of course, Jake, Steve, and an adult chaperone who remains in a coma throughout the movie. The two cogent survivors return to their coastal community with much tabloid attention. Jake's divorced mother Shelley (Anastasia Hille) is barely able to keep it together with anti-depressants and welfare checks. She leans on Jake, her eldest son, for emotional stability. Steven, on the other hand, loathes his ice queen socialite mother (Jacqueline Bisset) and his anal-retentive politico father. Traumatized in two different ways -- Steven slides into steely cynicism while Jake delves into weepy despondency -- the two agree to a blood pact: they will spend the following year living it up in nihilist glee, after which time they will duly off themselves. As the year of mayhem unfolds -- including robbing banks, torching schools, and eating ice cream in Timbuktu -- their friendship and their fidelity to their pact is questioned. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

My Uncle Silas tells the story of a mischievous reprobate in rural England in the early 20th century. The production consists of five episodes based on a collection of short stories H.E. Bates published in 1939 to relive the memories of his youth in Northamptonshire. Albert Finney stars as the title character, a kind of over-the-hill Tom Jones who lives life to the fullest -- and then some. Silas' misadventures are presented through eyes of his great nephew, Edward (whom Silas calls Ned), a ten-year-old who spends a summer vacation with Silas. The boy learns an important lesson from the old fellow: carpe diem. In episode one, "The Wedding," Silas and his relatives celebrate the wedding of his son. At the reception, Silas gets drunk, toasts the couples, and dances well into the night with the lovely bride. Ned can only marvel at his uncle's "eloquence" and stamina. In episode two, Silas and Ned paper walls at a hotel at which liquor is forbidden and the proprietor neglects his wife. By the time the walls are papered, Silas has rehabilitated the proprietor. He not only appreciates his wife, but he also begins to serve liquor. In episode three, Silas wins over a proper lady by serving her the best tea she ever tasted (because, unknown to her, it's spiked with booze), and comforts her on her deathbed. In episode four, Silas jogs himself into passable shape to box a brute named Goliath, and in episode five, he tells Ned a stirring tale from his youth in which he and his friends go swimming in the nude and impish creatures called girls steal their clothes. ~ Mike Cummings, Rovi

Not a comedy series despite its punny title, the British weekly Sex, Chips and Rock 'N' Roll was set in the Manchester community of Eccles in 1965. Gillian Kearney and Emma Cooke starred as non-identical 18-year-old twins Ellie and Arden, who, for most of their lives had been carefully and strictly raised by their humorless (and curiously bitter) Grandmother Irma (Sue Johnston). Gran's hard work proved to be for naught when Ellie and Arden lost their hearts to the Ice Cubes, an ambitious rock music trio. Along the way, the viewers discovered the real, deep-lying reason that Grandmother Irma was so dead-set against the Ice Cubes' intrusion in the girls' lives. The villain of the piece was a bloke named Norman (David Threlfall), who, to use the Dickensian expression, could make the flesh creep. Produced by Wall to Wall Productions for BBC1, the six 50-minute episodes of Sex, Chips and Rock 'N' Roll originally aired from September 5 to October 10, 1999. Viewers outside the United Kingdom were treated to the series courtesy of the BBC America cable channel. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A young man learns that love hurts (or at least it does if you're doing it right) in this saucy comedy from England. Henry Harding (Tom Bell) is a member of British Parliament and a self-styled moral crusader who is deeply disturbed by reports that Tanya Cheex (Guinevere Turner), a dominatrix from the U.S., has opened a night club for S&M enthusiasts in England. Harding is determined to put Cheex out of business, but first he needs to collect evidence of her activities, so Harding persuades Peter Emery (Christian Anholt) -- a young man with political ambitions, Christian principles, and his virginity intact -- to attend the club incognito and videotape the proceedings. To Peter's great surprise, he discovers that he rather likes a bit of spanking and leather fetishism, and he soon becomes quite infatuated with Tanya, making him all the less inclined to help shut down her club. Preaching to the Perverted presented Guinevere Turner in her first starring role after her breakthrough in the acclaimed independent feature Go Fish. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Five criminals with varying degrees of experience are brought together and torn apart by a major robbery in this hard-edged British drama. Ray (Robert Carlyle) was once a leftist political activist whose ideals were dashed by England's increasing political conservatism, while his close friend Dave (Ray Winstone) is an East End hard man with a long history in crime. Ray and Dave plan a heist that they expect will leave them set for life: the robbery of a major London security firm. Ray and Dave's new associates are Ray's one-time cellmate Stevie (Steven Waddington); Jason (Damon Albarn), whose uncle is veteran mobster Sonny (Peter Vaughn); and Julian (Philip Davis), an unstable young criminal with more ambition than experience. After the break-in, the gang discovers that their haul was far less than expected, which leads to infighting among the thieves over who should get how much, with violence and betrayal as the inevitable result. Face marked the screen debut for Damon Albarn, already well-known in England as the lead singer for the successful rock band Blur. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi