Julie Graham Movies
Coronation Street scribe John Fay pens this three-part conspiracy thriller concerning a mobile phone engineer who blames his job for giving him an inoperable brain tumor, and who becomes the prime suspect in a murder investigation when a drug dealer is shot dead and a mobile phone mast is destroyed. Set against the backdrop of the Iraq War, the film opens as mobile phone engineer Eddie (Neil Fitzmaurice) is diagnosed with a deadly brain tumor. Though his wife Donna (Julie Graham) and their two children vow to make his final days truly memorable, all vengeful Eddie can think about is making sure that someone pays. Eddie's efforts to track down the responsible party backfires though when a murdered drug dealer and a destroyed cell phone mast lead police to suspect that he may be responsible for a series of murders around the city. Also hungry for vengeance is broken soldier Maurice Stone (Jamie Draven), whose wife and son were killed by a driver that was talking on their cell phone. That driver has never been found, and Maurice won't rest easy until he's gotten his revenge. Later, when the identity of the hit-and-run driver is finally revealed, the true mastermind behind this mobile phone terror plot finally steps out from the shadows as a labyrinthine conspiracy slowly comes to light. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Kitchen, Jamie Draven, (more)
Director Gillies MacKinnin and screenwriter Adrian Hodges team to adapt Victorian author H.G. Wells' intimate drama about a man who has forsaken his dreams to lead a life of suffocating mediocrity. Alfred Polly (Lee Evans) was once a man with truly extraordinary dreams, but unfortunately Alfred has chosen to walk the comfortable path of convention. Now saddled with a nagging wife (Anne-Marie Duff) and a failing business, Alfred becomes consumed by his own desperation. But no one who strives for a life of simple contentment will ever achieve anything truly extraordinary, and only when Alfred decides to take violent action will he finally realize what it takes for a gutless milquetoast to embrace his inner hero. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lee Evans, Anne-Marie Duff, (more)
Martin Clunes and Julie Graham star in a sitcom about a romantic undertaker who turns to a popular dating service in hopes of finding true love. William Shawcross (Clunes) is a wonderful guy, the only problem is that most women seem reluctant to date a man with such a grim career. While undertaker William sees to it that people get a fitting exit out of this world, midwife Mary (Graham) does her best to bring new life in. When William sees Mary's dating service video and is instantly smitten by the smart and pretty midwife, the stage is set for a romance that covers all ground between life and death. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Daniel Craig, David Morrissey, (more)
- Starring:
- Martin Clunes, Julie Graham, (more)
Unlike other TV documentaries on organ transplants, The Kindness of Strangers focuses not on the operation or the recipients, but on the families of recipients and donors alike. In the course of the film, the viewer is shown how the decision to donate the vital organs of deceased family members is a means of keeping the decedents alive in the hearts and minds of their loved ones. Additionally, the film details the tension and anguish attending the long wait for recipients to reach the "top of the list." Underwritten by the James Redford Institute (Redford, son of film star Robert Redford, was himself a liver-transplant survivor), The Kindness of Strangers made its HBO cable bow on September 23, 1999; thereafter the film was exhibited theatrically, winning the Crystal Heart Award at the Telluride Film Festival. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Julie Graham, Neil Pearson, (more)
Old New Borrowed Blue is a bittersweet love story of modern times. Rosie and Vincent are desperately trying to have a baby, but this is causing an unavoidable stress on their sex life. When Benoit, a French postal worker and teenage pen pal of Rosie's, arrives on their doorstep with romantic intentions, Vincent is not as thrilled as Rosie. Having found out that his over-the-channel sweetheart is now married, Benoit settles in as her houseguest. Vincent is unhappy with the arrangement and tries to cure his wounded ego in an affair with his old flame, the local hairdresser, Cathy. Rosie and Vincent find themselves facing choices they had never imagined they would have to make. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christopher Eccleston, Dervla Kirwan, (more)
Rose Troche (Go Fish) directed this British romantic comedy with various gay characters in London. Impish Darren (Tom Hollander) urges lonely Leo (Kevin McKidd of Trainspotting) to get a more active social life, as does neighbor Angie (Julie Graham). When friend Adam (Christopher Fulford) gets Leo to join the therapy group run by New Age-styled guru Keith (Simon Callow), Leo meets good-looking Irishman Brendan (James Purefoy), who's just ending a lengthy relationship with his business partner, Sally (Jennifer Ehle). Sally just happens to be Leo's high-school sweetheart. It's not long before Leo and Brendan pair off. Shown in the Market section at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kevin McKidd, Hugo Weaving, (more)
A young man learns that love hurts (or at least it does if you're doing it right) in this saucy comedy from England. Henry Harding (Tom Bell) is a member of British Parliament and a self-styled moral crusader who is deeply disturbed by reports that Tanya Cheex (Guinevere Turner), a dominatrix from the U.S., has opened a night club for S&M enthusiasts in England. Harding is determined to put Cheex out of business, but first he needs to collect evidence of her activities, so Harding persuades Peter Emery (Christian Anholt) -- a young man with political ambitions, Christian principles, and his virginity intact -- to attend the club incognito and videotape the proceedings. To Peter's great surprise, he discovers that he rather likes a bit of spanking and leather fetishism, and he soon becomes quite infatuated with Tanya, making him all the less inclined to help shut down her club. Preaching to the Perverted presented Guinevere Turner in her first starring role after her breakthrough in the acclaimed independent feature Go Fish. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Guinevere Turner, Christien Anholt, (more)
The Near Room, a British crime drama in the noir tradition, tells the story of reporter Charlie Colquhoun (Adrian Dunbar), a man who finds himself the prime suspect in both a kiddie porn ring and a murder. Hired by his ex-wife, Charlie begins his own investigation looking for his daughter, Tommy, whom he gave away as a baby. He discovers that Tommy is the crucial link in a kiddie porn ring run by Clegg (Peter McDougall), who was a former employer of Tommy. Several murders occur, and Charlie finds himself fighting for his life. The film combines social issues with the noir view of the grim reality of life. The performances are uniformly good, and director David Hayman moves the story with an eye to detail and character, making this an above-average crime thriller. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
The title may be Blonde Fist, but that doesn't mean that the leading characters have yellow hair growing from their knuckles. This British actioner deals with the specialized world of female boxers. People essential to the action bear such monikers as "Crazy Sue" (Susan Atkins) and "Big Alice" (Jane Poter). Veteran Hollywood leading lady Carrol Baker shows up as a don't-mess-with-me promoter. There are some attempts at social satire, contrasting the female pugilists with "proper" British ladies, but Blonde Fist is essentially an excuse to show scantily clad women duke it out and sweat a lot. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Margi Clarke, Carroll Baker, (more)
Filmmaker David Leland handled the directing chores on this British drama that stars Liam Neeson as an unemployed Scotsman whose inability to find a job threatens his family's wellbeing. Against his better judgement, Neeson is coerced into a bare-knuckle boxing match. Crossing the Line's supporting cast includes Hugh Grant, Joanne Whaley-Kilmer, Cameron Mitchell, and Billy Connolly. Adapted from a novel by William McIvanney, the film has also been released under the title The Big Man. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Liam Neeson, Joanne Whalley, (more)
Based on a true story, this drama follows the exploits (both real and imagined) of the murderer Larry Winters (Iain Glen), who achieved fame as a writer and poet while he was in prison for his crimes. He is best known for his elegaic stories about boyhood life in the Scottish Highlands. Flashback memories of actual events are mixed with fantasy scenes, as this outwardly tough prisoner attempts to cope with his confinement. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Iain Glen
Eric Idle and Robbie Coltrane team up for this bad boy comic burlesque, directed by Jonathan Lynn. Idle and Coltrane play Brian Hope and Charlie McManus, a pair of two-bit hoods who want to go straight, repulsed by the increasing reliance on guns and violence in their line of work. In thrall to vicious gangster Case Casey (Robert Patterson), the duo determine that their next job will be their last. When a large amount of money is extracted from a gang of Hong Kong drug dealers and it falls into the laps of Brian and Charlie, the two take off with the loot, with the Chinese Triad and Casey in relentless pursuit. When their car runs out of gas in front of a convent, Brian and Charlie run inside and disguise themselves as two of the ugliest nuns imaginable. Inside the convent, Brian and Charlie pass themselves off as nuns from a different order, assigned to the convent before leaving the country on missionary work. As the two men enjoy their undercover work with a collection of nubile nuns and coeds, the bad guys close in on their trail. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eric Idle, Robbie Coltrane, (more)
The bluntly titled The Fruit Machine stars Emile Charles and Tony Forsyth as a pair of homosexual Liverpool teenagers. Though their sexual orientation may be the same, Charles and Forsyth hold diametrically opposed outlooks on life. Gradually, a romance develops between the two -- but before things progress much farther, the film suddenly switches emotional gears. Witnessing a gangland execution, Charles and Forsyth are forced to defend their lives against an onslaught of villains. The Fruit Machine seems unsure of what sort of movie it would like to be, though many of its individual components are handled with utmost confidence by director Philip Saville. The film was originally titled Wonderland. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Emile Charles, Tony Forsyth, (more)

















