Colin Firth Movies

As Mr. Darcy in the acclaimed 1995 television adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, Colin Firth induced record increases in estrogen levels on both sides of the Atlantic. Imbuing his role as one of literature's most obstinate lovers with surly, understated charisma, Firth caused many a viewer to wonder where he had been for so long, even though he had in fact been appearing in television and film for years.

The son of two university lecturers, Firth was born in England's Hampshire county on September 10, 1960. Part of his early childhood was spent in Nigeria with missionary grandparents, but he returned for schooling in his native country and eventually enrolled in the Drama Centre in Chalk Farm. While playing Hamlet in a school production during his final term, the actor was discovered, and he went on to make his London stage debut in the West End production of Julian Mitchell's Another Country. Starring opposite Rupert Everett, Firth played Tommy Judd, a character based on spy-scandal figurehead Donald Maclean (Everett played Guy Bennett, based on real-life spy Guy Burgess). He went on to reprise his role for the play's 1984 film version, again playing opposite Everett.

Despite such an auspicious beginning to his career, Firth spent the rest of the decade and half of the next working in relative obscurity; he starred in a number of television productions -- including the highly acclaimed 1993 Hostages -- and worked steadily in film. Some of his more notable work included A Month in the Country, in which he played a World War I veteran opposite Kenneth Branagh and Natasha Richardson, and Valmont, Milos Forman's 1989 adaptation of Les Liaisons Dangereuses, in which Firth starred in the title role. The film also provided him with an introduction to co-star Meg Tilly, with whom he had a son.
However, it was not until he again donned breeches and a waistcoat that Firth started to emerge from the shadows of BBC programming. With his portrayal of Mr. Darcy in the popular TV adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, Firth was propelled into the media spotlight, touted in a number of articles as the latest in the long line of thinking women's crumpets; he was further rewarded for his work with a BAFTA award. The same year, he appeared as an amorous cad in the similarly popular Circle of Friends and went on the next year to appear as Kristin Scott Thomas' cuckolded husband in The English Patient. Firth garnered praise for his role in the film, which went on to win international acclaim and Academy Awards.
After a turn as a morally ambiguous man who gets involved with both Jessica Lange and Michelle Pfeiffer in A Thousand Acres, Firth took a comically sinister turn as Gwyneth Paltrow's intended husband in the 1998 Shakespeare in Love. The following year, he starred in two very different movies: My Life So Far, a tale of family dysfunction in the Scottish Highlands, and Fever Pitch, initially released in the U.K. in 1997, in which Firth played a rabid English football fan forced to choose between his love of the sport and the woman in his life.

Headlining the low-key comedy My Life So Far the following year, Firth's performance as the father of a family living in a post World War I British estate was only one of five roles that the busy actor would essay that particular year (including that of William Shakespeare in Blackadder Back and Forth). His finale of the year -- Donovan Quick -- offered a memorable updating of the legend of Don Quixote with Firth himself in the titular role. Firth's supporting role in the 2001 comedy Bridget Jones's Diary preceded a more weighty performance in the chilling drama Conspiracy, with the former earning him a BAFTA nomination and the latter an Emmy nod. Comic performances in Londinium (2001) and The Importance of Being Earnest (2002) found Firth continuing to maintain his reputation as one of England's most talented comic exports, and if his lead in 2003's Hope Springs failed to capitalize on his recent string of success, his role as teen starlet Amanda Bynes' celluloid father in What a Girl Wants (2003) at least endeared him to a new generation of moviegoers before the adult-oriented drama Girl With a Pearl Earring hit theaters later that same year. After rounding out the busy year with a return to romantic comedy in Love Actually, Firth kicked off 2004 with a turn as a haunted widower in Trauma while preparing to return to familiar territory in Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
2009  
 
Fashion designer Tom Ford makes his directorial debut with this dramatic outing starring Colin Firth, Julianne Moore, and Matthew Goode. Ford and David Scearce adapted the story from a book by Christopher Isherwood, which tells the tragic tale of a professor's loss of his longtime partner. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Colin FirthJulianne Moore, (more)
2009  
PG  
Add Disney's A Christmas Carol to Queue
Writer/director Robert Zemeckis adapts Charles Dickens' classic holiday tale A Christmas Carol as a star vehicle for Jim Carrey in this performance capture/Disney Digital 3D animated film for all ages. Carrey will not only take on the role of Ebenezer Scrooge, but all of the three ghosts who come to haunt him as well. The filmmaking process will be in tune with the director's other animated outings, The Polar Express as well as the adult-themed Beowulf adaptation. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Jim Carrey
2008  
PG13  
Add Mamma Mia! to QueueAdd Mamma Mia! to top of Queue
Longing to discover the identity of her true father before she exchanges her wedding vows, the daughter of a once-rebellious single mother secretly invites a trio of paternal candidates to her upcoming wedding in this feature adaptation of the beloved stage musical. Independent-minded single mother Donna (Meryl Streep) has always done her best to raise her spirited daughter, Sophie (Amanda Seyfried), while simultaneously running a successful hotel on a small Greek island, but now the time has come for this hardworking mom to finally let go. In just a few days, Sophie will be married, and Donna will stand by bittersweetly as her little girl takes flight. Of course, Donna's lifelong friends Rosie (Julie Walters) and Tanya (Christine Baranski) will both be present at the wedding, but unbeknownst to the mother, Sophie has furtively invited three very special guests of her own. When Sophie walks down the aisle on that fateful day, she wants her father to hand her off. The only problem is that Donna has never revealed the true identity of Sophie's father, leaving the resourceful future bride to narrow the list down to three potential candidates. Now, as three key figures from Donna's past return to the picturesque Mediterranean shores they all walked 20 years prior, one beautiful bride will discover the secret of her past while one lonely mother finds out that it's never too late for a little romance. Phyllida Lloyd, director of both the original London sensation as well as the hit Broadway incarnation, makes her feature directorial debut with this big-screen version of the beloved musical featuring 22 classic ABBA hits. Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgård, and Dominic Cooper co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Meryl StreepPierce Brosnan, (more)
2008  
 
In the wake of a family tragedy, an English ex-patriot living in the United States decides to relocate himself and his daughters to Italy, only to discover that tragedy may have followed them overseas when the youngest girl proves unable to move past her acute emotional pain. An Englishman at heart, Joe (Colin Firth) now lives a happy life with his wife and daughters in the United States. Their happy existence is turned upside down in an instant, however, when his wife is driving their daughters home one day and becomes momentarily distracted from the road. Later, as Joe and his daughters attempt to contend with the thick fog of grief hanging over their household, the loving father surmises that a change of scenery may be in order; accepting a teaching job in Italy in hopes that it will help them contend with their bereavement. For teenage daughter Kelly (Willa Holland), at least, the move works miracles: though Kelly was sullen and withdrawn back home, she seems awakened by the endless possibilities that the future may hold in Europe - even entering into a clandestine romance with a handsome Italian boy. Kelly's younger sister Mary (Perla Haney-Jardine), unfortunately, is another case entirely. Despite her father's most valiant efforts to assuage her grief, Mary just doesn't seem capable of shaking the loss. Meanwhile, as Joe rekindles an old friendship with a university colleague (Catherine Keener), his family soaks in the marvelous medley of medieval, Renaissance, and contemporary influences of the scenic, northern Italian city. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Colin FirthPerla Haney-Jardine, (more)
2008  
PG13  
Add Easy Virtue to QueueAdd Easy Virtue to top of Queue
A glamorous American woman enters into a spirited battle of wits with her disapproving English mother-in-law in this period romantic comedy. John Whittaker (Ben Barnes) and Larita Huntington (Jessica Biel) married in haste following a whirlwind romance. But reality comes knocking when the couple arrives to visit John's parents and his mother has an allergic reaction to her new daughter-in-law. As the battle of wits between the two women escalates, John and Larita's marriage begins to suffer. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Jessica BielBen Barnes, (more)
2007  
R  
Add Then She Found Me to QueueAdd Then She Found Me to top of Queue
Academy Award-winning actress Helen Hunt makes her feature directorial debut with this adaptation of Elinor Lipman's best-selling novel about a Philadelphia schoolteacher (Hunt) whose long-lost birth mother (Bette Midler) reappears at the very moment her daughter is careening into a midlife crisis. Abandoned by her husband (Matthew Broderick) and still grieving the death of her adoptive mother, the emotionally fragile teacher enters into a relationship with the father of one of her students just as her biological mother, an eccentric talk-show host, appears on her doorstep attempting a reconciliation. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Helen HuntBette Midler, (more)
2007  
PG13  
Add The Last Legion to QueueAdd The Last Legion to top of Queue
Co-adapted by Tom Butterworth and Jez Butterworth from Valerio Massimo Manfredi's best-selling historical adventure novel, Doug Lefler's period epic The Last Legion unfurls in 470 A.D., just prior to the fall of the colossal Roman Empire. As the most recent in a long line of caesars, a young Roman child, Romulus (Thomas Sangster), is poised to inherit the throne -- until Germanic forces invade, lay siege to the city, and brutally murder his parents. At the last second, with his life hanging by a thread, Romulus receives the protection of military commander Aurelius (Colin Firth), who assembles a cadre of rebels, including Romulus, the boy's magician instructor, Ambrosinus (Sir Ben Kingsley), and the Indian female warrior Mira (Aishwarya Rai). After Romulus discovers an enchanted sword once claimed by Julius Caesar, the troupe heads out to the province of Britannia and Hadrian's Wall. There, the men will regroup with the Ninth Legion and plan one final triumphant stand against the barbarian invaders of Rome. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Colin FirthBen Kingsley, (more)
2007  
PG13  
Add The Accidental Husband to QueueAdd The Accidental Husband to top of Queue
A radio talk-show host who specializes in repairing damaged relationships finds her life suddenly turned upside down when a listener who took her advice and later regretted doing so resolves to take revenge on the misguided love doctor. Uma Thurman, Colin Firth, Sam Shepard, and Isabella Rossellini star in a romantic comedy directed by Griffin Dunne. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Uma ThurmanColin Firth, (more)
2007  
PG13  
Add St. Trinian's to Queue
The uniformed but rebellious students of a distinguished all-girls school get an unexpected chance to raise a little hell as directors Oliver Parker and Barnaby Thompson set out to revive the characters created by comic artist Ronald Searle and made popular in the British film series that began with 1954's The Belles of St. Trinian's. When their beloved school is threatened with closure should the powers that be fail to raise the proper funds, the girls scheme to steal a priceless painting and use the profits to pull St. Trinian's out of the black. Rupert Everett, Colin Firth, and Mischa Barton star in a mischievous comedy penned by Piers Ashworth and Nick Moorcroft. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Rupert EverettColin Firth, (more)
2007  
PG13  
Add When Did You Last See Your Father? to QueueAdd When Did You Last See Your Father? to top of Queue
Adapted from poet Blake Morrison's best-selling memoir by screenwriter David Nicholls and directed for the screen by Anand Tucker, And When Did You Last See Your Father? explores -- like its source material -- the complex, manifold emotional layers of a father-and-son relationship as it shifts and evolves over the passing decades. At the film's center is Blake Morrison himself, who for as long as he can remember has lived in the overarching shadow of his physician father, Arthur (Jim Broadbent) -- falling prey to feelings of embarrassment from the old man, as well as occasional awe. In the 1950s, when Blake (Bradley Johnson) was a child, the boy watched as Arthur partook in socially uncouth behavior such as wheedling his way into clubs to which he didn't belong, and carrying on an extramarital affair with the full knowledge of his wife, Kim (Juliet Stevenson). As the years passed, teenage Blake's (Matthew Beard) discomfort around his father hardened into resentment -- particularly when the adolescent boy expressed interest in a girl, Rachel (Carey Mulligan), who clearly preferred his father; compounding the situation, Blake then had to suffer through Arthur's decision to publicly humiliate his son in front of everyone. The central dynamic has changed for the two, however, by the late '80s, when Blake -- now married to Kathy (Gina McKee) and freshly established as a successful novelist and poet -- learns that Arthur has contracted terminal cancer. Now, the junior Morrison takes a headfirst plunge into the memories and recollections of his youth -- and grapples with the dynamic of his relationship with Arthur for the first time in his life as he comes face to face with the need to provide loving care for the old man. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Jim BroadbentColin Firth, (more)
2006  
 
Dominic Savage is a filmmaker known for exploring the subject of social inequity in contemporary England. In this film focusing on the country's homelessness problem Savage follows the lives of several characters who are struggling to survive in a shelter for those with no place to live and no one to turn to. Michelle is a single mother who is pregnant and desperate to escape her husband Robert - a violent ex-convict who was only recently released from prison. Yemi is a journalist who, along with his terrified wife, was recently forced to flee from Nigeria in fear of his life. Meanwhile, wealthy, forty year-old father-to-be Mark (Colin Firth) feels profound guilt over his good fortune in life, and selflessly determines to give back to the community by becoming a street worker. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Colin FirthRobert Carlyle, (more)
2005  
PG  
Add Nanny McPhee to QueueAdd Nanny McPhee to top of Queue
A nanny reveals ways of making children behave that are much more effective than a time-out in this fantasy comedy based on the "Nurse Matilda" books for children by Christianna Brand. Near the dawn of the twentieth century, Mr. Brown (Colin Firth) is a widower who must tend to his business as an undertaker while looking after his brood of seven children. Brown's offspring are a singularly ill-mannered lot who have managed to drive away 17 different nannies when their father arranges for one Nanny McPhee (Emma Thompson) to help out with the children. McPhee is an strange looking woman with a large nose, protruding teeth, and pock-marked skin, but it isn't long before the kids realize she has magical powers and isn't afraid to use them to help keep them in line. While the children aren't taken with McPhee's insistence on such things as saying "please" and listening to their elders, it becomes clear everyone has bigger things to worry about. Aunt Adelaide (Angela Lansbury) has insisted that if Mr. Brown cannot find a new wife within a month, she'll take custody of one of the children and cut off Brown's inheritance, and while Brown and the widow Mrs. Quickly (Celia Imrie) seem fond of one another, his ineptitude in courtship seems to insure he'll never get her to the altar. But while the Brown Children realize Nanny McPhee is a formidable opponent, she can also be a valuable ally as they learn to make use of her talents by being better children; they also discover that as they behave better, she begins to look less frightening. Emma Thompson, who played the title role in Nanny McPhee, also wrote the film's screenplay. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Emma ThompsonColin Firth, (more)
2005  
NC17  
Add Where the Truth Lies to QueueAdd Where the Truth Lies to top of Queue
A reporter unexpectedly gets a personal perspective on a legendary show-business story in this adaptation of Rupert Holmes' novel, scripted and directed by noted Canadian independent filmmaker Atom Egoyan. In the mid-'50s, Lanny Morris (Kevin Bacon) and Vince Collins (Colin Firth) were a wildly popular comedy team who suddenly and unexpectedly broke up at the peak of their popularity. Fifteen years after Morris and Collins called it quits, journalist Karen O'Connor (Alison Lohman), who has earned a reputation for her celebrity exposés, wants to write about the true story of what happened with Morris and Collins -- and to her surprise, her publisher tells her Collins has agreed to co-author the book for a cool million dollars. The only catch is that Collins has to tell the full truth about a very large skeleton in the team's closet -- a beautiful naked woman was found drowned in the bathtub of Morris and Collins' hotel suite shortly before they broke up the act, and while the comics were cleared of any wrongdoing, rumors about the incident followed them for years. As O'Connor and Collins complete their book, they learn to their surprise that Morris has opted to write a book of his own about the team's career; eager to learn what Morris has to say, O'Connor meets him posing as a schoolteacher, and soon falls into an unexpected romantic relationship with him. O'Connor soon finds herself playing two sides against one another as she tried to learn the truth about two men with dark and scandalous pasts. Where the Truth Lies became the subject of unexpected controversy when the MPAA gave the film an NC-17 rating due to a brief scene involving a ménage à trois; the film earned significantly more lenient rating in other countries. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Kevin BaconColin Firth, (more)
2004  
 
This 2004 episode of Saturday Night Live is hosted by Colin Firth and features musical guest Norah Jones. ~ Skyler Miller, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Colin FirthNorah Jones, (more)
2004  
R  
Add Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason to QueueAdd Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason to top of Queue
Based on author Helen Fielding's sequel to Bridget Jones's Diary, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason picks up four weeks after the original film left off, with Bridget (Renée Zellweger) emotionally satisfied at long last with Mark Darcy (Colin Firth), her barrister boyfriend. Stability in Bridget's life, however, quickly becomes a contradiction in terms. Though Mark is openly supportive of Bridget's eccentricities -- and there are many -- she is nonetheless threatened by Mark's young, nubile intern, not to mention irked at finding out that he is, among other less desirable qualities in her eyes, a conservative voter. Complicating issues further is the reentrance of her ex-lover, Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant), whom Jones, perhaps mistakenly, thought she had finally gotten over. Before long, the situation escalates into another series of embarrassing circumstances for Bridget, who is faced once again with a crippling feeling of self-doubt and has only her diary and friends to combat it. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Renée ZellwegerHugh Grant, (more)
2003  
PG  
Add What a Girl Wants to QueueAdd What a Girl Wants to top of Queue
Loosely based on the 1958 comedy The Reluctant Debutante starring Sandra Dee, the family-friendly comedy What a Girl Wants features popular Nickelodeon teen star Amanda Bynes in her first feature-starring performance after her debut in Big Fat Liar. She plays teenager Daphne Reynolds, who lives in New York City with her musician mother, Libby (Kelly Preston). After she turns 17, Daphne is undecided about her future, so she takes off by herself to London in search of her father. She immediately meets cute musician Ian (Oliver James) before sneaking in to her father's estate to surprise him. He turns out to be Lord Henry Dashwood (Colin Firth), a fabulously wealthy aristocrat who doesn't even know that she exists. He had met her mother in Morocco and the two were married in a tribal ceremony. Upon their return to England, she left him and went back to the U.S. without ever revealing that she was pregnant. The uptight Henry is already flustered by his campaign for election, advised by doting aide Alistair Payne (Jonathan Pryce). His no-nonsense fiancée, Glynnis (Anna Chancellor), and her bratty daughter, Clarissa (Christina Cole), are threatened by Daphne's presence, thinking that she will hurt Henry's political aspirations by causing a scandal. However, the family matriarch (Eileen Atkins) takes a liking to her and she soon finds herself trying to liven things up at several stuffy aristocratic parties. Meanwhile, the evil Glynnis and Clarissa conspire against her by trying to sabotage her appearance, leading up to the conclusion at Daphne's very own coming-out party. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Amanda BynesColin Firth, (more)
2003  
PG13  
Add Hope Springs to QueueAdd Hope Springs to top of Queue
Not a sequel to 1998's Hope Floats, Hope Springs is a romantic comedy based on the 2001 novel New Cardiff, the first new book in over 20 years by Charles Webb, author of The Graduate. Directed and written for the screen by Mark Herman (Brassed Off), the film stars Colin Firth as lovelorn British artist Colin Ware. After being left by his fiancée Vera (Minnie Driver), Colin takes to sulking about in a small Vermont hotel run by Joanie Fisher (Mary Steenburgen). When Joanie becomes aware of Colin's broken heart, she decides to match him up with a local woman named Mandy (Heather Graham). But just as romance begins to ensue between Colin and Mandy, Vera suddenly pops back into the picture with intentions of rekindling her relationship with Colin. Oliver Platt heads up the supporting cast that also includes Frank Collison and Chad Faust. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Colin FirthHeather Graham, (more)
2003  
PG13  
Add Girl With a Pearl Earring to QueueAdd Girl With a Pearl Earring to top of Queue
The subject of one of Johannes Vermeer's most enduring portraits becomes the focus of this biographical period piece from director Peter Webber. Girl With a Pearl Earring is told from the point of view of Griet (Scarlett Johansson), a teenaged girl who leaves her family's care in the country to become a servant for the Vermeer household in the comparatively bustling, canal-laden burgh of Delft. When she arrives, she finds herself at the low end of the servant totem pole, until she's allowed to clean "the master's" painting quarters. There, she catches the eye of the taciturn, reclusive Vermeer (Colin Firth), and over a period of time, he begins to craft her portrait. Of course, this does little to further his relationship with his jealous, pregnant wife, Catharina (Essie Davis), or with his most vocal benefactor, van Ruijven (Tom Wilkinson), who often dictates what portraits Vermeer should paint. Meanwhile, Griet navigates a sweet, tentative relationship with a peasant boy her age (Cillian Murphy). Girl With a Pearl Earring had its North American premiere at the 2003 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Colin FirthScarlett Johansson, (more)
2003  
R  
Add Love Actually to QueueAdd Love Actually to top of Queue
All of London is in love -- or longing to be -- in Four Weddings and a Funeral writer Richard Curtis' first directorial effort. Billed as "the ultimate romantic comedy," Love Actually involves more than a dozen main characters, each weaving his or her way into another's heart over the course of one particularly eventful Christmas. The seemingly perfect wedding of Juliet (Keira Knightley) and Peter (Chiwetel Ejiofor) brings many of the principals together, including heartsick best man Mark (Andrew Lincoln), who harbors a very unrequited crush on Juliet. There's also recent widower Daniel (Liam Neeson), trying to help his lonely stepson Sam (Thomas Sangster) express his true feelings to a classmate. Across town, devoted working mother Karen (Emma Thompson) tries to rekindle the passion of her husband, Harry (Alan Rickman), who secretly pines for a young colleague of his. In the same office, the lonely Sarah (Laura Linney) not-so-secretly pines for a man just a few desks away (Rodrigo Santoro), who returns her affections but may not be able to dissuade her neuroses. Providing the unofficial soundtrack for all of the couples is an aging rocker (Bill Nighy) who just wants to cash in and get laid -- but even he might find a meaningful relationship in the most unlikely of places. A working print of Love Actually premiered at the 2003 Toronto International Film Festival. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Alan RickmanBill Nighy, (more)
2003  
 
Add Trauma to QueueAdd Trauma to top of Queue
U.K. filmmaker Marc Evans directs the psychological thriller Trauma, produced for the Ministry of Fear division of Little Bird Productions. Colin Firth stars as Ben, a man who wakes up from a coma to discover his wife, Elisa (Naomie Harris), has been killed in a car crash. He tries to start a new life on his own, but he's haunted by images of his wife and strange happenings in his apartment. Having no family connections left, he reunites with old friend Tommy (Tommy Flanagan). He also makes friends with neighbor Charlotte (Mena Suvari), who takes him to psychic Petra (Brenda Fricker). Trauma premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2004. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Colin FirthMena Suvari, (more)
2002  
PG  
Add The Importance of Being Earnest to QueueAdd The Importance of Being Earnest to top of Queue
A superb cast brings Oscar Wilde's classic comedy of manners to life in the third big-screen adaptation of this hilarious look at fun, games, and dubious ethics among the British upper crust. Algernon Moncrieff (Rupert Everett) is a slightly shady, but charming gentlemen from a wealthy family who has a bad habit of throwing his money away. Algernon has a close friend named Jack Worthing (Colin Firth), a self-made man who acts as a ward to his cousin, a beautiful young lady named Cecily (Reese Witherspoon). Algernon has created an alter ego to help him get out of tight spots brought on by his financial improprieties, and when he learns that Jack has created a false identity of his own -- Earnest, a brother living in London whose exploits have earned him no small amount of notoriety -- Algernon arrives for a weekend visit in the country posing as the mysterious Earnest. Having heard of Earnest's misadventures many times over the years, Cecily had developed something of an infatuation with the lovable rogue, and Algernon's impersonation of him works no small degree of magic on Cecily. Meanwhile, Algernon's cousin, Gwendolyn (Frances O'Connor), arrives for the weekend, and is startled to discover Jack is also there -- except that she knows him as bad-boy Earnest. So just who is in love with who? How will Lady Bracknell (Judi Dench) handle the matter of her daughter Gwendolyn's suitors? And what's the truth about Jack's mysterious heritage? The Importance of Being Earnest was director Oliver Parker's second film adaptation of an Oscar Wilde comedy; he previously helmed An Ideal Husband, which also starred Rupert Everett. Everett and Colin Firth also co-starred in the 1984 drama Another Country. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Rupert EverettColin Firth, (more)
2001  
R  
Add Fourplay to QueueAdd Fourplay to top of Queue
Comic and actor Mike Binder wrote, directed, and stars in this romantic comedy. Ben Greene (Binder) is an American comedy writer who moves to London when he's hired to work on a British television series called Tedford Gate. Tedford Gate stars Carly Matthews-Portland (Mariel Hemingway), a once-popular American actress who has found new popularity working in Europe; her husband Allen (Colin Firth), a stereotypically stiff-upper-lipped Englishman, is the producer of the show. As Ben adjusts to life in London, Carly decides to play matchmaker and fixes him up with Fiona Delgrazia (Irene Jacob), a lovely makeup artist from France who works on the show. Ben is quite taken with Fiona, and she with him, but Carly finds herself increasingly intrigued by Ben, while Allen secretly carries a torch for Fiona. Everyone has to take a long look at their increasingly complicated romantic commitments when Fiona takes a job in Italy and Allen wonders if he should follow her; Ben, meanwhile, has written a play and has found a British producer willing to stage it, but when he offers the female lead to Carly, he soon comes to the conclusion he's made a mistake. Londinium also features Stephen Fry, Jack Dee, and Christopher Lawford. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Mariel HemingwayMike Binder, (more)

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