Lynda La Plante Movies
A new bride finds she's tempted to leave her husband under circumstances she never anticipated in this romantic comedy-drama. Rachel (Piper Perabo) and Heck (Matthew Goode) are longtime sweethearts who have decided to take the plunge and get married, but on the day of their wedding, while Rachel is walking down the aisle, she finds herself struck by the beauty of Luce (Lena Headey), who has been hired to do the floral arrangements for the ceremony. While Rachel thinks little of this at first, she finds she can't get Luce out of her mind, and when Rachel invites Luce over to dinner in hopes of fixing her up with Coop (Darren Boyd), Heck's best friend and best man, she learns the lovely florist is a lesbian. When Rachel and Luce meet again while shopping, they strike up a friendship that deepens into something more, until Rachel declares her attraction to Luce -- and Luce reveals she feels the same way. Rachel has never had a relationship with a woman before, and while she's fallen deeply in love with Luce, she isn't at all sure of what to do next, and Heck soon realizes something has gone wrong in their marriage. Produced under the title Click, Imagine Me & You was the first directorial credit for screenwriter Ol Parker. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Piper Perabo, Lena Headey, (more)
A remake of the 1992 British film of the same name, the made-for-cable Framed begins as New York cop Mike Santini (Rob Lowe) is vacationing with his family in the Bahamas. By chance, Santini spots another "tourist": Eddie Meyers (Sam Neill), a high-profile fugitive mobster and a key player in a major money-laundering scheme. Once Santini collars Meyers, he is surprised at the mobster's friendly acquiescence; in fact, Meyers requests that Santini, and Santini alone, interrogate him once they are safely ensconced in a secluded New York compound. What follows is nothing less than a prolonged seduction, with Meyers using every resource at his disposal -- money, women, lavish gifts, luxurious mansions -- to corrupt the heretofore incorruptible Santini. The American version of Framed first aired April 13, 2003, on the TNT network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Adapted by Lynda LaPlante from her own 1983 British miniseries of the same name, the ABC four-parter Widows was set in motion by a bungled art heist, in which three thieves (and a possible fourth) were betrayed and killed. Rather than grieve over their fallen husbands, the three widows of the thieves -- Dolly (Mercedes Ruehl), Linda (Rosie Perez), and Shirley (Brooke Shields) -- join forces to complete the original "caper," and to track down their spouses' murderers. The ladies are joined by exotic dancer Bella (N'Bushe Wright), whose missing-in-action boyfriend may have been slaughtered along with the other three crooks. The American version of Widows debuted August 6, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mercedes Ruehl, Rosie Perez, (more)
- 1998
The weekly, hour-long British cop drama Supply and Demand was an outgrowth of a one-off, two-hour special, which aired over ITV in 1997. In the original, cowritten by Lynda LaPlante, streetwise cop Jake Brown (Eamonn Walker) and desk-bound, by-the-book officer Harrington (Ade Sapara) found themselves reluctant partners in an undercover drug bust. When the series proper premiered one year later, Jake and Harrington were still in attendance, but now the lead character was lesbian police officer Edna Colley (Miriam Margolyes), the head of the experimental undercover unit that had been introduced in the 1997 "pilot." The series version of Supply and Demand ran for six hour-long episodes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1998
The mysterious world of the Internet served as the stomping grounds for the four-part British thriller Killer Net. Tam Williams headed the cast as psychology student Scott Miller, who made the acquaintance of a beautiful but slightly unbalanced young lady while surfing the net. The girl enticed Scott into participating in a sinister CD-ROM game called "Killer Net," in which the players pretend to be serial murderers. Unfortunately, the girl is killed for real, and unlucky Scott is framed for the murder by the actual culprit. Adapted by former actress Lynda La Plante from her own novel, this series caused some controversy when it originally aired because of its implication that the British police were utterly computer ignorant. Co-produced by Channel Four and Australia's Nine Network, Killer Net premiered in the United Kingdom on May 5, 1998. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tam Williams, Paul Bettany, (more)
- 1997
Lynda La Plante (Prime Suspect) scripted this TV miniseries about the family life surrounding a Mafia don. Sicilian magnate Don Luciano (Dennis Farina) and his wife Graziella (Vanessa Redgrave) live comfortably at Villa Rosa in Palermo, Italy. Their son Michael (Michael Hayden) has an affair with Sophia (Nastassja Kinski), leaving her pregnant but unmarried. After Luciano refuses to traffic drugs, angry U.S. mob boss Carolla (Tony Lo Bianco) retaliates by having Michael killed. When Sophia secretly gives birth to Luka, her child by Michael, she then marries another Luciano brother and bears twins. Later, Carolla unwittingly adopts the teenage Luka (James Marsden), who is unaware of his own past. Carolla's vengeance continues through the years, and he passes the hatred on to Luka -- who sees that all males in the Luciano family are eliminated. Despite the slaughter, Luca charms the unsuspecting Luciano widows when he arrives at Villa Rosa, claiming to be the son of a wealthy, concerned American. How long before they learn the truth? Film director Peter Bogdanovich is seen in the role of Luciano's American contact, Giancamo. Bella Mafia first aired 11/16/97 and 11/18/97 on CBS. The feature-length video version was edited down to 117 min. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vanessa Redgrave, Dennis Farina, (more)
- 1997
Created and produced by Lynda LaPlante, the British crime series Trial and Retribution made its first ITV appearance in 1997. Presented as a series of two-hour specials, the series detailed the most unsavory of crimes (beginning with a brutal child murder), concentrating primarily on the capture of the perpetrators and the ensuing court trial. The project was distinguished by its extensive use of multiple images, with sometimes as many as four different subplots being played out simultaneously on the same screen. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1996
Grumpy, chain-smoking prosecuting attorney Ingrid Maynard (Stockard Channing) hasn't accepted a case since the accident that left her confined to a wheelchair. But when the husband of assistant DA Rachel Simone (Michelle Forbes) is killed in a robbery, Ingrid decides to return to the courtroom to take over the investigation and ultimate prosecution of the culprit. Forced to work together, the embittered Ingrid and the dispirited Rachel don't always see eye to eye, but this does not compromise the value of their work. However, a major "conflict of interest" crisis threatens to slow the wheels of justice to a grinding halt. Made for the NBC network by the same team responsible for the series Homicide and Prime Suspect, The Prosecutors originally aired on December 2, 1996. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1995
The British miniseries She's Out was the third and final chapter of author Lynda La Plante's Widows trilogy (the earlier installments included 1983's Widows and 1985's Widows II). Ann Mitchell returned in the tailor-made role of professional thief Dolly Rawlins, out of prison after serving eight years of a nine-year sentence for murdering her husband. Hardly repentant, Dolly intended to embark upon a search for the hidden diamonds that were at the root of her incarceration; she also hoped to wreak vengeance against those who had double-crossed her. Dogging Dolly's trail every foot of the way was a relentless police detective, who held Dolly responsible for the death of his own sister. The six hour-long episodes of She's Out aired over ITV in 1995. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1992
This two-part British miniseries was motivated by the disappearance of a private detective, played by Michael Carter. Conducting their separate investigations, a fortyish housewife (Brenda Fricker) and a young female cop (Josette Simon) discovered that the missing private eye was married -- to both of them! Rather than enter into a mutual-recrimination session, the two jilted ladies teamed up to take over their mutual hubby's detective agency. Seekers was shown by Central Television in 1992. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1991
Created by Lynda La Plante, the sporadically broadcast British TV series Prime Suspect succeeded in bestowing international stardom upon actress Helen Mirren. Set in London, the series dealt with female homicide detective Jane Tennison (Helen Mirren), who did her best to do her job in the face of sexual prejudice on the job and political corruption from the higher-ups. Virtually every time that Tennison investigated a murder, the trail of clues led to a compromising situation for a prominent civic leader, who invariably pulled strings to get the heroine off his scent. Not unexpectedly, Tennison was plagued with feelings of doubt and inadequacy, especially whenever her instincts proved (initially) to be wrong. Even so, by the time the series had run its course, Tennison had been promoted to superintendent. Making its British debut on April 7, 1991, Prime Suspect was broadcast for six seasons, each season progressively retitled as Prime Suspect 2, Prime Suspect 3, and so forth. In America, the property was seen over the PBS network and the A&E cable service. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Helen Mirren, John Benfield, (more)
- 1983
Created by Lynda LaPlante, the British TV drama series Widows focused on the wives of three professional criminals, all of whom were apparently killed during a bungled robbery. Taking matters in their own hands, the widows, led by Dolly Rawlins (Ann Mitchell), vowed to finish the larcenous job that their husbands had started, and to wreak vengeance on those responsible for their widowhood. They were joined by a fourth woman, Bella O'Reilly (played first by Eva Mottley, then by Debbie Bishop), who claimed that her boyfriend was also part of the original caper. First telecast from March 16 through April 20, 1983, Widows was followed by Widows II, which aired from April 3 to May 8, 1985. On this occasion, it was revealed that one of the "dead" husbands was still alive, and very insistent that he be cut in on the loot. The subsequent rounds of betrayal and backstabbing culminated in a third series, She's Out. Widows was remade for American television in 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ann Mitchell, Maureen O'Farrell, (more)
