Charles Steel
- 2007
Adapted from the best-selling novel by author Clare Allan, director Benjamin Ross' made for television drama follows the unlikely friendship between a psychiatric patient who lives to sponge off the system, and the newly arrived patient who causes her to question everything she ever thought she knew. N (Anna Maxwell Martin) has spent the last thirteen years living in a North London psychiatric ward, and she'd do it all over again if given the opportunity. She's made it her mission in life never to be released, and she's willing to do whatever it takes to remain institutionalized for life. Her life is changed forever with the sudden appearance of a new patient named Poppy Shakespeare (Naomie Harris), an elegant yet temperamental woman who insists that she isn't insane. But while N can't quite understand Poppy's reasons for wanting to escape the mental ward, she's more than happy to help her new friend try. The only problem now is that in order for Poppy to qualify for release, N must help prove that she's not insane. . . but how does one go about proving their sanity when in order to do so they must first appear to be mad? ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Naomie Harris, Anna Maxwell Martin, (more)
Director Kevin MacDonald teams with screenwriter Jeremy Brock to adapt Giles Foden's novel detailing the brutal reign of Ugandan dictator Idi Amin as seen through the eyes of his personal physician. James McAvoy stars as the doctor who slowly realizes that he is trapped in an inescapable nightmare, and Forest Whitaker assumes the role of the notorious despot. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Forest Whitaker, James McAvoy, (more)
- 2001
Two lifelong friends discover that growing up sometimes means growing apart in this gritty British drama. Charlie (Paul Nicholls) and Justin (Roland Manookian) are a pair of best friends who grew up together in a rough-and-tumble London neighborhood, close enough that some of Charlie's pals jokingly refer to Justin as "the wife." Charlie and Justin are the de facto leaders of a group of toughs, including Damien (Alexis Rodney), Francis (Danny Dyer), and Tommy (Sid Mitchell), who make a living through petty theft. As the boys grow into their late teens, it becomes obvious that they are not going to be following the same paths in life. Tommy decides to join the Army and Francis loses interest in the gang after he gets serious with his girlfriend. Charlie has been going through changes of his own, especially after the death of his father (David Thewlis), and while Justin has no real ambitions beyond a life as a small-time criminal, Charlie is smart (and practical) enough to begin thinking of a different future. Charlie is offered a good-paying straight job by his cousin Hector (Richard Driscoll), and he begins pursuing a relationship with Blondie (Dani Behr), a young woman a few rungs higher on the social ladder. But as Charlie moves forward, Justin seems stuck in neutral, and as they begin to drift apart, Justin finds himself increasingly disenchanted with his best friend's new life. The supporting cast also includes Phil Daniels and Jamie Foreman. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Nicholls, Phil Daniels, (more)
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, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marianne Jean-Baptiste
- 1999
Italian director Roberto Faenza creates this complex psychological drama about love and tragedy in the cultural minefield of the Middle East. Thirteen years ago, Asya (Juliet Aubrey) and Adam (Ciaran Hinds) witnessed the violent death of their three-year old son in London. Though the couple eventually moved to Tel Aviv, Asya never fully recovered from the misfortune, growing emotionally distanced from her husband and teenaged daughter Dafi (Clara Bryant). When young Frenchman Gabriel (Stuart Bunce) appears, however, Asya comes to believe that the youth is her dead child. Though Adam is simply happy that his wife is laughing again, the bond between Gabriel and Asya soon starts to navigate that disquieting gray area between parental love and carnal passion. Then, just as suddenly as he appears, he mysteriously disappears in his grandmother's old Morris, driving the utterly distraught Asya to search the ends of Israel for him. Meanwhile, Dafi falls for gentle Palestinian mechanic Na'im (Erick Vazquez), though their young love is tested by cultural misunderstandings and prejudice. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ciarán Hinds, Juliet Aubrey, (more)
Swept From the Sea was inspired by a short story by Joseph Conrad. Set in late 19th-century Cornwall England in a small farming community, the story is told via flashback in a conversation between Dr. James Kennedy (Ian McKellen) and his patient Miss Swaffer (Kathy Bates). Dr. Kennedy despises indentured servant Amy Foster (Rachel Weisz). Miss Swaffer asks why, and so he recounts the love that blossomed between Amy and Yanko Goorall (Vincent Perez), a shipwrecked Russian who was trying to get to America. Born prior to her parent's wedding, Amy was relegated to a servant's life by rigid British society. Yanko was the sole survivor of a Russian shipwreck and he met Amy when he wandered onto her master's farm looking for food and shelter. Frightened and suspicious, no one but Amy is willing to help the bedraggled foreigner. Yanko eventually becomes a laborer for the Swaffer family. As he could speak no English at first, they know nothing of his origins. It is Dr. Kennedy who deduces his nationality after Yanko proves his mettle at chess. Impressed, the doctor offers English lessons in exchange for chess tutorials. In time, Kennedy comes to regard Yanko as a son. As soon as Yanko is able to converse, he asks about the maid who saved him, Amy. A love blossoms between them, one that deeply disturbs Kennedy. Still, he cannot prevent Swaffer from setting them up with land and a home so they can marry. A son is born, but Yanko is unable to withstand the harshness of Cornwall life, and tragedy ensues. Kennedy blames Amy for the tragic turn of events, but Miss Swaffer intervenes and tells the doctor the heartbreaking true circumstances surrounding Yanko. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vincent Perez, Rachel Weisz, (more)
