Ian Brown Movies
A woman throws herself into a last-ditch struggle to conquer her demons in this gritty drama from director Olivier Assayas. Lee Hauser (James Johnston) is a faded rock star who lives with his wife, Emily Wang (Maggie Cheung), the former host of a European music video show, in a small town in Western Canada. Both Lee and Emily have been battling drug addiction for years, and when Lee finally dies of an OD, Emily finds herself charged with possession of heroin and ends up spending six months in jail. Lee and Emily's son, Jay (James Dennis), has been living with his paternal grandparents, Albrecht (Nick Nolte) and Rosemary (Martha Henry), and while Emily is eager to see her son after getting out of jail, Albrecht persuades her that she needs to get herself clean before she can reconnect with Jay. Determined to get off methadone, Emily relocates to France, where she scares up a job as a waitress and moves in with her old friend Elena (Béatrice Dalle). Emily's attempts to start a new career and stay off drugs prove to be an uphill battle, and she doesn't appear to be winning her fight when she learns that Albrecht and Jay will be accompanying Rosemary to London for medical treatment when Rosemary contracts a serious illness -- and that Albrecht is considering making a side trip to Paris. Clean was screened in competition at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maggie Cheung, Nick Nolte, (more)
- 1991
The title of this British sketch-comedy series referred not to sexual aberrations but to the stars of the proceedings, the comedy team of Tony Slattery and Mike McShane. Having honed their improvisational talents on the popular Whose Line Is It Anyway?, Slattery and McShane offered a wealth of zany routines, both ad-libbed and scripted. Most of the humor was manifested in parodies of popular films, television programs, and commercials, with emphasis on the latter. A presentation of the prolific Hat Trick Productions, the seven-episode S and M was seen on Britain's Channel Four from November 6 to December 18, 1991. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1990
A satire of the British TV "docu-soap" format (as exemplified by the films of Michael Apted and other "actuality" specialists), A Set of Six was the brainchild of writer/performer Rowland Rivron. Narrated in the best dead-on fashion by Tony Bilbow, this was the cinéma vérité saga of the Scrotes, a family of grown-up sextuplets. Rowland Rivron not only played the kids' father, but was also seen as all six siblings. A co-production of Britain's Channel Four and Channel X, A Set of Six ran for six half-hour episodes, which aired from June 12 to July 17, 1990. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
