Diana Hardcastle Movies
One of Oscar Wilde's most popular plays is given a new screen interpretation in this period comedy. In New York in the early '30s, Mrs. Erlynne (Helen Hunt) is a widow who lives comfortably through the largesse of several married men, and when she runs out of wealthy suitors in Manhattan, she decides to find greener pastures among the wealthy elite of Italy's Amalfi coast. Mrs. Erlynne sets her sights on Robert Windermere (Mark Umbers), a wealthy Englishman who is married to the young, innocent and very beautiful Meg (Scarlett Johansson). Mrs. Erlynne gingerly tries to separate Robert from his wife and his money, fueling suspicions within Amalfi society as well as the audience that they are involved. Humiliated and ready to beat him at his own game, Meg begins to consider the advances of the handsome Lord Darlington (Stephen Campbell Moore), one of her husband's close friends. In the midst of all the attempted infidelity, the genially eccentric Tuppy (Tom Wilkinson) struggles to win Mrs. Erlynne's hand, while only one of the interconnected parties know that she carries a shocking secret. A Good Woman was based on Wilde's Lady Windermere's Fan, with its title drawn from that show's subtitle, "A Play About a Good Woman." ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Helen Hunt, Scarlett Johansson, (more)
A lonely singer/songwriter and the man of her dreams take a second shot at love after fate intervenes into their romance in a tearful tale of destiny starring Jennifer Love Hewitt and Paul Nicholls. Samantha Andrews (Hewitt) was studying classical music in London when she first met Ian Wyndham (Nicholls), and the moment they locked eyes both new that it was love at first sight. Their storybook romance takes a turn for the tragic, however, when Samantha dies in a horrific accident shortly after the pair have their first major argument. Stricken by inconsolable grief and touched by the forgiving hand of merciful fate, Ian now has one chance to take it all back and relive that fateful days before he truly loses the love of his life once and for all. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jennifer Love Hewitt, Paul Nicholls, (more)
- 1996
This is the first in a television series of British-made murder mysteries, adapted from Caroline Graham's novels about the polite and enigmatic Inspector Barnaby (John Nettles). Barnaby is married to the equally low-key Joyce (Jane Wymark), and they have an assertive daughter, Cully (Laura Howard). Barnaby's opposite is his acerbic partner, Troy (Daniel Casey). This pilot episode is set in the English county Midsomer. After the death of elderly Emily Simpson (Renee Asherson), her friend gets Barnaby to investigate, and the suspects include Michael Lacey (Jonathan Firth), curiously attached to his attractive sister Katherine (Emily Mortimer). The series premiered June 28, 1998 on A&E. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Nettles, Daniel Casey, (more)
- 1996
Another of British television's many Catherine Cookson adaptations, The Tide of Life starred Gillian Kearney as typically Cookson-esque heroine Emily Kennedy. Living in Tyneside in the early 20th century, poor Emily is knocked about by fate and victimized by any number of nasty people -- until, of course, the Right Man comes along. In this instance, the man in question was Larry Birch, played by Ray Stevenson. Also known as Catherine Cookson's The Tide of Life, this three-part, three-hour miniseries originally aired in 1996. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gillian Kearney, John Bowler, (more)
Originally produced for the BBC, the seven-part Fortunes of War was adapted from Olivia Manning's "The Balkan Trilogy" and "The Levant Trilogy". Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson, who in 1987 were husband and wife, star as Guy and Harriet Pringle, a British couple who move to Rumania in 1939. As the war clouds gather, Guy becomes involved in political resistance activities, which tends to make him neglectful of Harriet, who'd just as soon remain aloof from world events. While Guy goes off on such missions as destroying the German supply lines along the Danube, Harriet attempts to maintain decorum in her home-a task rendered well nigh impossible when such "guests" as Prince Yakimov (Ronald Pickup) drop in. Separated in mid-war, the Pringles are reunited in Greece, where the lonely Harriet becomes involved with handsome army officer Jeremy Brudenell. Then it's off to further adventures in Alexandria, Cairo, and finally, Damascus. Fortunes of War was first telecast in America from January 17 to February 28, 1988, as part of PBS' Masterpiece Theatre series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
