Sean Gilder Movies
Visually minded filmmaker Tarsem Singh returns to the director's chair for the first time since The Cell (2000) with this psychologically complex tale of a hospitalized paraplegic with a curious knack for storytelling. Unable to free himself from his sterile confines, the immobile patient's deepest fears form the basis of a dark story that he shares with his young companion -- a little girl who visits his room as she recovers from a nasty fall. As the eerie tale unfolds, reality and fantasy gradually merge to form a strange world in which anything is possible. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lee Pace, Catinca Untaru, (more)
An ambitious attempt to wed the legend of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table with known historical facts of the era, this action adventure drama begins with the fall of the Roman Empire in 450 A.D. as Roman armies flee the British Isles. Arthur (Clive Owen), a heroic knight and devoted Christian, is torn between his desire to travel to Rome to serve his faith and his loyalty to the land of his birth. As England falls into lawlessness, Arthur throws in his lot with a band of knights who hope to restore order to their fair and pleasant land and hopes to win freedom for his comrades, among them Lancelot (Ioan Gruffudd), Galahad (Hugh Dancy), Tristan (Mads Mikkelsen), Gawain (Joel Edgerton), Bors (Ray Winstone), and Dagonet (Ray Stevenson). In time, Arthur and his men join forces with Merlin (Stephen Dillane), a shaman whose band of renegade knights were often pitched in battle against Roman forces. Forming a united front as loyal Englishmen against the invading Saxon armies, Arthur, Merlin, and the brave and beautiful Guinevere (Keira Knightley) are determined to unite a sovereign Britain under one army and one king. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Clive Owen, Keira Knightley, (more)
Set in 1978 England, AKA opens with 18-year-old Dean (Matthew Leitch) being kicked out of his working-class home by his abusive father. Shy but socially ambitious, Dean subsequently finds work with high society marm Lady Gryffon (Diana Quick), who introduces him to the privileged set. However, Dean does something to perturb the good lady, and is unceremoniously kicked out of her household. Loathe to part company with the perks of high society, he assumes the identity of Lady Gryffon's son, Alex, and relocates to Paris. There, he makes the acquaintance of Benjamin (Peter Youngblood Hills), a cute but drug-riddled American, and Benjamin's lover David (George Asprey), an older playboy who has the hots for Dean. What unfolds is a tale of deceit, class warfare, and the complexities of sexual identity. AKA was screened at the 2002 Philadelphia Gay and Lesbian International Film Festival. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Matthew Leitch, George Asprey, (more)
- 2000
- R
Composer, songwriter, and half of the pop band Eurythmics, Dave Stewart makes his directorial debut with this wacky caper comedy set in the heart of 1960s-era swinging London. Starring three members from British girl band All Saints, the film focuses on a trio of sisters -- cocky Gerry (Nicole Appleton), horny Mandy (Natalie Appleton), and amiable kid sister Jo (Melanie Blatt) -- who tape down their breasts, don facial hair, and crack safes in order to help their depressed widowed dad. Local crime lord Duggie Ord (Corin Redgrave) believes that Gerry knows who the thieving lads are, but he has no idea that the real culprits are right in front of his face. While casing a gem dealer on Carnaby Street, Gerry gets herself hired in alternative magazine Zero, which is housed in the same building. There she meets the decadent publisher, Andrew (Jonathan Cake), an upper-class fop, and American Rhode scholar turned draft-dodger Daniel (Peter Facinelli), who takes an immediate liking to Gerry. While Daniel works late, the larcenous trio break into the building and steal a fortune in jewels. On the way out, Daniel runs into Gerry in male garb and the two duke it out until mid-tussle he realizes that his opponent is actually the same young lass he has fallen for. This film was screened at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- 1999
- NR
A group of big-city twentysomethings are either looking for love or trying to get love to stick around in the romantic comedy Say You'll Be Mine. Ben (Nicky Katt) is an aspiring writer who for years has had a ferocious crush on his friend Julia (Libby Langdon). But Julia is more interested in his best friend Josh (Daniel Lapaine) -- in fact, they're getting married. Julia, meanwhile, is trying to fix Ben up with Melanie (Megan Ward), who's studying acting; Ben likes Melanie well enough, but is still trying to adjust himself to the fact she just isn't Julia. Ben is looking for advice, but has trouble finding a sympathetic ear -- his sister Chelsea (Justine Bateman) is a divorce lawyer who mistakenly shot her husband and went in to work the next morning. Meanwhile, Melanie has to deal with her roommates, Mason and Catherine (Gil Bellows and Rya Kihlstedt), a married couple who have furiously loud arguments when they're not having furiously louder sex. Say You'll Be Mine was the debut feature for writer/director Brad Kane; he originally wrote the script when he was only 21. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nicky Katt, Libby Langdon, (more)
This fact-based British drama tells the story of real-life Sgt. Caroline Meagher (Helen Baxendale) in a flashback to 1978, a time when Meagher realized she was a lesbian and began a secret affair with a Scottish woman, eventually attracting suspicion while running a Northern Ireland military base. In 1990, "special investigators" took her away for questioning, but before her homosexuality was proven, Meagher quit the army which previously denied it kept intelligence files on lesbians but now admits this is true. Documentary filmmaker Chris Oxley made his drama directorial debut with this film, which adds an interview with the real Caroline Meagher at the conclusion. Shown at the 1998 Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Helen Baxendale, Laura Fraser, (more)
- 1998
Duncan Roy wrote and directed this British horror-comedy about popular celeb TV cook Clancy (Mark Aiken), a bisexual caught between his girlfriend and his boyfriend. As his fame grows, so does his paranoia that leaks about his homosexual life could ruin his career, prompting a plan to ditch the boyfriend and marry the girlfriend. But everything goes askew after he accidentally kills a pet dog owned by a homophobic psycho. Shown at the 1998 Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mark Aiken, Rocky Marshal, (more)
