Mary Gallagher Movies
A woman is forced to prove her own sanity to save the life of her daughter in this taut thriller. Kyle Pratt (Jodie Foster) is a successful aircraft designer who has recently been dealing with the traumatic death of her husband. After traveling to Berlin on business with her six-year-old daughter, Julia (Marlene Lawston), Kyle falls asleep on their flight back to New York, only to discover that her daughter has gone missing. While not knowing where Julia has gone is troubling enough, even more disturbing is the insistence by sky marshal Gene Carson (Peter Sarsgaard) and Captain Rich (Sean Bean) that no records indicate that the child ever boarded the jet. As Kyle becomes increasingly desperate to find her daughter, she must prove to the men in charge that her daughter did in fact board the plane with her, and that this turn of events is not a product of her imagination. But if Julia has gone missing, who has taken her and why? Also starring Erika Christensen and Kate Beahan, Flightplan was the first English-language feature from German director Robert Schwentke. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jodie Foster, Peter Sarsgaard, (more)
The private life of celebrated author and philosopher Ayn Rand takes center stage in this film produced for the Showtime cable network. In 1951, Ayn Rand (Helen Mirren) is a best-selling author and celebrated thinker when she meets Nathaniel Branden (Eric Stoltz) and his friend Barbara (Julie Delpy), two college students who admire her writing and ideas. Rand takes the students under her wing, but before long her mentoring becomes less benevolent and more abusive. She badgers Barbara and Nathaniel, who were never more than close friends, into marrying, and while Nathaniel responds well to Rand's tutelage, Barbara begins to shrink from Rand's lack of compassion, which Rand sees as weakness. Things become more uncomfortable when, after Barbara and Nathaniel join Ayn and her often-ignored husband Frank O'Connor (Peter Fonda) on a vacation, Ayn and Nathaniel demand "permission" to have an affair, which they feel is dictated by the importance of their work. Based on Barbara Branden's autobiography about her years with Rand, The Passion Of Ayn Rand was premiered at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Helen Mirren, Eric Stoltz, (more)
The Bonds of Love in this made-for-TV drama are those forged between divorcee Kelly McGillis and mentally disabled Treat Williams. What begins as a friendship between two lost souls blossoms into a deep and genuine romance. Their wedding plans are challenged by his mother (Grace Zabriskie) and father (Hal Holbrook)-who are not depicted as villains but merely well-meaning and overprotective (only Williams' brother, played by Steve Railsback, comes off in negative terms). Based on a true story, Bonds of Love is set in Kansas (though it was lensed in Ontario). The film premiered January 24, 1973. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Marlo Thomas fully justifies her star status in the made-for-television Nobody's Child. Ms. Thomas portrays the real-life Marie Balter, a Massachusetts woman consigned to a mental hospital after a suicide attempt at age 16. For the next 20 years, Marie is and out of the institution, mostly under the care of a sensitive doctor (Caroline Cava) who treats her for panic disorder and depression. Finally able to curb her inner demons without the use of drugs and therapy, Marie leaves the hospital for good, hoping to pursue a normal life. She falls in love with another ex-mental patient (Ray Baker), and strives successfully to earn a college diploma (she later became a health administrator). Aside from Marlo Thomas' Emmy-winning performance, Nobody's Child boasts the stunning camerawork of longtime Ingmar Bergman associate Sven Nykvist. One scene, in which Marie Balter imagines she sees serpents emerging from a typewriter, is as frightening a piece of celluloid as has ever been presented on television. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
