Peter Kosminsky Movies
The Oprah Book Club best-seller by Janet Fitch makes it to the big screen in this adaptation from British director Peter Kosminsky. White Oleander recounts the traumatic adolescence of Astrid Magnusson (Alison Lohman), who finds herself an orphan after her short-fused, enigmatic artist mother Ingrid (Michelle Pfeiffer) is carted off to prison on murder charges. Astrid first finds herself in the care of Starr (Robin Wright Penn), a garish, born-again mother of two with a gruff but sensitive boyfriend (Cole Hauser). From there, she's shunted back to a state-run facility, where she tangles with other troubled teens and finds temporary solace in the arms of Paul (Patrick Fugit), a dough-faced comic book artist with dreams of moving to New York City. Astrid then lucks into a living arrangement with a successful but insecure actress (Renee Zellweger) who offers her unconditional love. But Ingrid's stifling influence continues to haunt her daughter, whether through the occasional prison visit or via manipulative letters to Astrid's caretakers. White Oleander received a Gala North American premiere at the 2002 Toronto Film Festival before reaching multiplexes later that fall. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alison Lohman, Michelle Pfeiffer, (more)
- 2000
Originally seen on Britain's Channel 4 in 2000, the TV docudrama Innocents was based on one of the United Kingdom's most tragic and egregious examples of wholesale medical incompetence. The story takes place within the walls of the British Royal Infirmary, a children's hospital. The introduction of a miraculous new open-herart surgical procedure briefly provides hope for thousands of children born with congenital birth defects in the early '90s. Even though a disturbing number of children die on the operating table, the hospital's staff, not to mention the press and the public, choose to concentrate on the happy survivors. But anesthetist Dr. Stephen Bolsin (Aden Gillett) begins to have doubts as to the effectiveness of the procedure, especially when noticing that conditions in the post-op rooms are dismally unsanitary. Despite Bolsin's suspicions, his subsequent one-man investigation, and his highly public whistle-blowing, it takes nearly a decade before the Infirmary's celebrated chief surgeon James Wishheart (Roger Brierly) is forced to confront his fatal shortcomings as an angel of mercy. Innocents was telecast in America as part of the PBS Masterpiece Theatre anthology on May 6, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1999
The ambitious two-part British miniseries Warriors (aka Peacekeepers) managed to put a human face on the war in Bosnia, and also raised several provocative questions concerning the U.K.'s controversial participation in the conflict. By focusing on a select group of soldiers and their families, the production analyzed the troops' effectiveness in the bloody campaign, and whether or not it was worth the sacrifice. In Citizen Kane fashion, the story began with the British battlefield involvement itself, then flashed back to the events leading up to the conflict -- and flash-forwarded to the aftermath. When originally telecast in Britain on November 20 and 21, 1999, Warriors was followed by a live debate over the issues touched upon in the film. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Matthew MacFadyen, Cal Macaninch, (more)
Peter Kosminksy directed this faithful adaptation of the Emily Bronte classic. Ralph Fiennes has the role of Heathcliff, a wanderer adopted by the father of Cathy (Juliette Binoche), "a wild slip of a girl." Heathcliffe is looked down upon by his stepbrothers and becomes a servant. He is further crushed when Cathy, the love of his life, marries another man -- since to marry a servant would be the ultimate in humiliation for her. Heathcliffe disappears for a number a years but then returns, revenge and hatred for Cathy's family the only thing on his mind. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Juliette Binoche, Ralph Fiennes, (more)
