Eileen Atkins

The small town gossip, secrets, and romance of Mary Gaskells' popular series of novels comes to the small screen in this BBC drama series from director Simon Curtis. The year is 1842, and Cranford is a modest Cheshire market town on the verge of great change. The railway is reaching to Cranford from Manchester, and the locals fear that their town will soon be overrun with migrant workers and lawlessness. Spinster Deborah Jenkins Eileen Atkins) is the arbitrator of correctness about town, and as far as she and her demurring sister Matty (Judi Dench) are concerned there's never a dull moment in Cranford. Things begin to get especially interesting after handsome new doctor Frank Harrison (Simon Woods) arrives in town shocking the locals with his decidedly non-traditional methods of practicing medicine. Frank has a powerful effect on the ladies around town, but when Matty runs into an old flame at Lady Ludlow's garden party her thoughts drift back to the time when she was forced to give up the man she once loved with all her heart. No one is immune from the gossip that winds its way through the local circuits, and that gossip can almost always be traced back to the Jenkins sisters. When news emerges that the railroad is coming to town, everyone realizes that their tidy little universe is about to expand in ways that they could have never imagined. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Adapted from a novel by John Fante, Robert Towne's Ask the Dust stars Colin Farrell as Arturo Bandini, a young writer who comes to Los Angeles during the Great Depression in order to write a novel. As the film opens, he is down to his last nickel and decides to spend it on coffee in a diner. He is served by Camilla (Salma Hayek), a Mexican beauty he is instantly attracted to even though he treats her horribly during their first interaction. Soon the pair is involved in a relationship that finds them sparring with each other at first, but slowly learning to trust each other. Bandini meets the acquaintance of a desperate woman who sees him as the most desirable man in the world. Eventually Arturo and Camilla get away from the city and their love deepens as he attempts to finish his novel. Donald Sutherland co-stars as a seedy but helpful and loyal neighbor. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

With his English-language political thriller The Feast of the Goat, action helmer Luis Llosa cinematizes Mario Vargas Llosa's sweeping, epic novel about the myriad of events leading up to the assassination of a real-life tyrannical despot. The story opens in 1992, when a Dominican émigré attorney, Urania Cabral (Isabella Rossellini) leaves her new home in the U.S. and heads back to her native country, for the first occasion in decades. She intends to confront her father, 80-year-old Augustin (Tomas Milian), about his former employment in the government of the supremely corrupt dictator Rafael Leonidas Trujillo (Tomas Milian). The film then flashes back to the events surrounding the assassination of Trujillo on a highway in late May of 1961, by delving into the lives and motives of each of the participants - from Amadito (Juan Diego Botto), whom Trujillo forced to execute his future brother-in-law, to that victim's father (Murphy Guyer), to Antonio (David Zayas), the brother of an incriminating witness whom Trujillo's men executed. One by one, as their stories are disinterred, the assassins gather on a nighttime road, brandishing guns, and prepare to shoot Trujillo and throw his body into the trunk of a car. Paul Freeman, Stephanie Leonidas and Richard Bekins co-star; Llosa co-authored the script with Augusto Cabada and Zachary Sklar. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

William Makepeace Thackeray's witty assessment of the British class system, as seen through the experiences of one young woman, is brought to the screen with some serious star power in this period comedy drama. Becky Sharp (Reese Witherspoon) is a bright and ambitious girl born to a poor British family. Becky is determined to make something of herself however she can, and after accepting a job as a nanny for the children of the powerful and aristocratic Sir Pitt Crawley (Bob Hoskins), she wastes no time ingratiating herself with the family. Pretty Becky catches the eye of Crawley's handsome and eligible son Rawdon (James Purefoy), and becomes chummy with sharp-tongued Aunt Matilda (Eileen Atkins). Between the two of them, Becky is introduced to London's most exclusive social circle, where she becomes re-acquainted with Amelia Sedley (Romola Garai), a former school chum who is amused by Becky's efforts to scale the ladder of social influence. Becky weds Rawdon, but following initial happiness, the social and economic stability she dreamed of begins to collapse when he begins drowning his troubles in gambling and drink, and soon she turns to the powerful Marquess of Steyne (Gabriel Byrne) for support. Meanwhile, Amelia's fortunes fall even harder following the death of her husband. Vanity Fair was directed by Mira Nair, who enjoyed a surprise international success with 2002's Monsoon Wedding. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Károly Makk is reunited with actors Ivan Darvas and Mari Töröcsik in the drama A Long Weekend in Pest and Buda. After being forced to leave Hungary 45 years earlier, Ivan (Darvas) gets word that the woman he left behind, Mari (Töröcsik), is dying. He breaks a promise to himself and travels back to the country. Without telling his wife the real reasons for his trip, Ivan arrives in modern Hungary to find that Mari is not only interested in a trip down memory lane, but that he has a daughter he never knew about. Makk, Darvas, and Töröcsik worked together previously in 1971's Szerelem (Love). ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

Three women, separated by a span of nearly 80 years, find themselves weathering similar crises, all linked by a single work of literature in this film adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Michael Cunningham. In 1923, Virginia Woolf (Nicole Kidman) is attempting to start work on her novel Mrs. Dalloway, in which she chronicles one day in the life of a troubled woman. But Virginia has demons of her own, and she struggles to overcome the depression and suicidal impulses that have followed her throughout her life, as her husband Leonard (Stephen Dillane) ineffectually tries to help. In 1951, Laura Brown (Julianne Moore) is a housewife living in suburban Los Angeles, where she looks after her son Richie (Jack Rovello) and husband Dan (John C. Reilly). Laura is also an avid reader who is currently making her way through Mrs. Dalloway. The farther she gets into the novel, the more Laura discovers that it reflects a dissatisfaction she feels in her own life, and she finds herself pondering the notion of leaving her life behind. Finally, in 2000, Clarissa Vaughn (Meryl Streep) is a literary editor who is caring for Richard Brown (Ed Harris), a former boyfriend and noted author, who is slowly losing his fight with AIDS. Clarissa is trying to arrange a party to celebrate the fact that Richard has won a prestigious literary award, but is getting little help from Richard's ex-lover, Louis (Jeff Daniels). As she labors to help Richard through another day, he wonders if his life is worth the unending struggle. The Hours also features Toni Collette, Miranda Richardson, Allison Janney, and Claire Danes. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Maverick American filmmaker Robert Altman takes a witty and absorbing look at the foibles of the British class system in this intelligent murder mystery set in the early '30s. Sir William McCordle (Michael Gambon) and his wife Lady Sylvia (Kristin Scott Thomas) are a pair of wealthy British socialites who have invited a variety of friends, relatives, and acquaintances to their mansion in the country for a weekend of hunting and relaxation. Among the honored guests are Constance (Maggie Smith), Lady Sylvia's matronly aunt; Ivor Novello (Jeremy Northam), William's cousin who is also a well-known actor and songwriter; and Morris Weissman (Bob Balaban), an American film producer who is friendly with Ivor and researching an upcoming project. Observing the proceedings are the domestic staff of the mansion, including imperious butler Jennings (Alan Bates); footmen George (Richard E. Grant) and Arthur (Jeremy Swift); Probert (Derek Jacobi), a valet to Sir William; housekeeper Mrs. Wilson (Helen Mirren); Mrs. Croft (Eileen Atkins), who oversees the kitchen; and Elsie (Emily Watson), a maid. Also on hand are the guests' personal servants, including Mary (Kelly Macdonald), Constance's maid; Henry (Ryan Phillippe), Weissman's valet; and Parks (Clive Owens), a butler. While the servants are required to display a high level of decorum, they are expected to be passive observers who do not comment on what they see, though the gossip among them travels thick and fast once they retire to the servants' quarters downstairs. And it turns out that there's plenty worth gossiping about, especially after Sir William turns up dead, and everyone is ordered to stay at the mansion while the police investigate the killing. Gosford Park also features Charles Dance, Tom Hollander, Natasha Wightman, and Ron Webster; the screenplay was written by Julian Fellowes, based on a story by Altman and co-star Bob Balaban. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Previously filmed by such cinematic geniuses as Jean Renoir and Vincente Minnelli, Gustave Flaubert's once-scandalous 1857 novel Madame Bovary was transformed into a two-part British miniseries in 2000. Set in the rural Normandy of the 1830s and 1840s, this is the story of Emma Rouault (Frances O'Connor), the pampered, well-educated daughter of a wealthy gentleman. Much to her own surprise, Emma accepts the marriage proposal of Charles Bovary (Hugh Bonneville), the provincial doctor who ministers to M. Rouault during a moment of medical crisis. Once she has become Madame Bovary, Emma quickly grows bored with her bourgeois existence, retreating into erotic fantasies stoked by her addiction to romantic novels. Inevitably, Emma strays from her marital vows, first with a handsome young clerk named Leon (Hugh Dancy), then with dashing country squire Rodolphe (Greg Wise). In order to sustain the lavish lifestyle which she feels is her basic right, Emma squanders all of her husband's money -- which plays right into the hands of usurious draper Lheureux (Keith Barron), who has his own wicked plans for the foolishly extravagant Mme. Bovary. In the United States, Madame Bovary was telecast on February 6 and 13, 2000, as part of the PBS Masterpiece Theatre anthology. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

British director Coky Giedroyc's sophomore feature outing concerns a pair of working class women in Edinburgh, Scotland. Down-to-earth Ellen (Gina McKee), a noted cartoonist, invites her wacky, outgoing best friend Cora (Helena Bonham Carter) to a post-divorce party. Ellen is recovering from an ill-fated marriage to the rakish Daniel, a compulsive gambler and philanderer. Cora broke up with her love 'em and leave 'em French lover Claude, who left her with a child. Told largely through flashbacks, the film charts the rise and fall of the two relationships, remembered by the pair as they bond over drinks. Later, a revelation suddenly strains Cora and Ellen's old and dear friendship. Women Talking Dirty was screened at the 1999 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

Jeremiah Chechick directed this $60 million adaptation of the whimsical 1961 British TV spy series, imported to the United States five years later for ABC airing (beginning 3/28/66), followed by The New Avengers (CBS, 1978-79). In the feature-length version, secret agent John Steed (Ralph Fiennes) and Emma Peel (Uma Thurman) face a meteorological menace as they track sinister super-villain Sir August de Wynter (Sean Connery), threatening to blitz Britain with blizzards and other extreme weather. Vocal cameo by Patrick Macnee (the original TV Steed). ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

This adaptation of the novel by Virginia Woolf stars Vanessa Redgrave as Clarissa Dalloway, a woman in her mid-'50s living in London five years after the end of WWI. As Mrs. Dalloway prepares an elaborate dinner party at the home she shares with her husband, a prominent politician, she finds herself looking back on her life 30 years before, when as a young woman (played by (Natascha McElhone), she was in love with two different men -- the solid and safe Richard Dalloway (John Standing) and the exciting, free-spirited Peter Walsh (Michael Kitchen). Clarissa also recalls her close friendship with Sally (Lena Headey) as she wonders if she made the right choice in marrying Richard -- especially when Peter makes an unexpected appearance at her party. Mrs. Dalloway also finds herself moved in a way she never anticipated by the plight of Septimus Smith (Rupert Graves), a young man severely injured during the war whom she has never met. Mrs. Dalloway was directed by Marleen Gorris, whose previous credit was the international success Antonia's Line. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Stella Gibbons' popular novel was published in 1932, and it has been adapted twice for British television, first as a miniseries in 1971, then by director John Schlesinger in 1995. That version proved so popular that it was released to theaters in the U.S. The heroine of Gibbons' story, Flora Poste (Kate Beckinsale), is an aspiring young writer with two needs: material for her first novel, and a cheap place to live and work. A wealthy friend encourages her to take advantage of her country cousins and impose upon them for lodgings. Flora finds Cold Comfort Farm to be a ramshackle affair populated by eccentrics including the imperious Ada Doom (Sheila Burrell), her daughter Judith (Eileen Atkins), Judith's rough but handsome son Seth (Rufus Sewell), and Amos (Ian McKellen), an amateur preacher whose sermonizing seems to release some kind of demons within him. Undaunted by this menagerie, Flora gets to work organizing the household, and she comes to realize that the material for her book is right in front of her. ~ Tom Wiener, All Movie Guide