Stuart Hepburn Movies
With Hallam Foe, British director Peter MacKenzie and scripter Ed Whitmore adapt the 2002 novel of the same name, a quirky, bittersweet, coming-of-age psychodrama by Peter Jinks. The titular character is the 17-year-old son (Jamie Bell) of a wealthy Scottish businessman (Ciarán Hinds). Still rattled by the death of his mom (who drowned in a nearby loch), Hallam retreats into a deep-seated fantasy world. He harbors amorous feelings for his new stepmother, Verity (Claire Forlani), until he gradually concludes that she murdered his biological mother. Hallam nonetheless lets himself be seduced into an affair with Verity, and is so repulsed by this transpiration that he flees to Edinburgh. His life turns a corner, however, when he spots -- and instantly becomes infatuated with -- Kate (Sophia Myles), a local girl who bears an uncanny resemblance to his mother. After he talks her into giving him a routine job in the kitchen of the hotel that she manages, they become romantically involved, ever so gradually, which spells trouble for Hallam's emotional state by thoroughly overwhelming and confusing him -- and deeper trouble still when Kate's married lover (Jamie Sives) discovers that Hallam has been spying diligently on Kate from his perch in a nearby bell tower. Ewen Bremner co-stars as the bellhop supervisor at the hotel. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jamie Bell, Sophia Myles, (more)
- 1997
The family that steals together stays together in this satiric British comedy. After a fire destroys her home, Bernadette James (Helen McCrory) gathers up her four children and leaves Edinburgh for London, hoping to locate her not-especially-responsible and currently-absent husband, Spendlove (John Hannah). Spendlove, as usual, turns out to be in no position to help them and is prepared to give up the marriage when Bernadette, in a fit of pique, robs a jewelry store, using her children as decoys. While the James family is now on the run, Bernadette has finally discovered a skill that can be used to support her children; she soon moves up to stealing cars and pulling daring (and lucrative) robberies in broad daylight, with hubby and the kids helping out. However, Spendlove doesn't have the stomach for a life of crime and wants to bail out, while police detective Julia Armstrong (Toni Collette) is determined to put the criminal family behind bars. Spendlove's brother (Jason Flemyng) soon joins in the James family's life of crime as the police's web tightens around them. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- John Hannah, Helen McCrory, (more)
- 1983
The Scottish TV series Taggart must hold the record for endurance, having outlived its title character by nearly a decade! Debuting September 6, 1983, the series originally zeroed in on the professional and personal life of flinty Glaswegian police detective Jim Taggart, played by Mark McManus. After McManus' death in 1994, the series shifted focus to the late Taggart's two assistants, Mike Jardine (James McPherson) and Jackie Reid (Blythe Duff). The series was strong enough to survive the tragic demise of yet another popular regular, Iain Anders (cast as Supt. McVitie) in 1998. Ironically, series creator Glenn Chandler lifted most of his character names from the tombstones in a Glasgow cemetery. Initially presented in serialized 60-minute chapters, Taggart gradually evolved into a group of irregularly scheduled two-hour specials. Of the original cast, only Robert Robertson, as police pathologist Dr. Andrew Stephens, was still in attendance as the series segued into the 21st century. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
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