Murray Head Movies

While pioneering pre-feminist author George Sand has been the subject of several film biographies focusing on her ten year relationship with Frederick Chopin, Les enfants du siècle looks at an earlier period in Sand's life, in particular her stormy romance with poet Alfred de Musset. In the early 1830's, Baroness Dudevant (Juliette Binoche) has abandoned her husband and arrives in Paris with her children in tow as rioting divides the city. The Baroness decides to reinvent herself and pursue a career as a writer; she renames herself George Sand, begins wearing clothes modeled after men's suits, and smokes cigarettes while penning manifestos denouncing marriage and affirming a woman's right to sexual satisfaction. Alfred de Musset (Benoit Magimel), a noted author, finds her brash nature fascinating, and they become first friends, then lovers as he helps her craft her literary efforts. However, Sand is six years older than de Musset, which leads to a severe conflict with his family; the couple heads to Venice in search of escape and inspiration, but Alfred decides that he prefers the city's brothels to George's company and that they should keep separate rooms from now on. George makes the acquaintance of an Italian doctor, Pagello (Stefano Dionisi), with whom she has a passionate affair; the realization that he's driven her into the arms of another man proves too much for Alfred, who returns to France. Eventually, George leaves Pagello and gives Alfred another chance, a decision she comes to regret. Les Enfants du Siecle had its world premiere at the 1999 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

This sumptuous French drama offers episodes from the notorious life of 18th century socialite and playwright Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais. The story begins in the 1770s with a rehearsal of his "The Barber of Seville." Young friend of Voltaire, Philipp Gudin introduces himself to the great playwright and offers to become his personal secretary. He then becomes the adventurous Beaumarchais' keeper as the author gets involved in a variety of situations including a duel with an angry husband, his battle with the corrupt French government and a serious long-term affair with Marie-Theres de Willer. It all comes to a climax when King Louis XV assigns the playwright a secret mission to London. There he must find and retrieve a damning document from transvestite aristocrat Chevalier D'Eon. Unfortunately, Beaumarchais gets tangled up with supporting American rebels and ends up tossed in jail. Louis XVI sees that he is finally released and then the writer becomes an arms smuggler for American revolutionaries. All of his activities bankrupt him and so Beaumarchais must return to writing plays. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

It is the summer of 1944, and Laurance (Judith Godreche) and her cousin Louis (Stanislaus Carre de Malberg) have always been fond of each other. Now, Louis has developed a crush on Laurance, and it appears that she is responding similarly. It seems that their relationship has every chance of thriving, until another man comes on the scene. Jack (Murray Head), is a dashing Englishman who has come to stay at Laurance's house to help organize the local resistance. Louis, smitten and jealous, is enraged when he discovers that his cousin has made love to the foreigner, and rushes off to denounce him to the authorities. He is immediately stricken with remorse and tries to undo what he has done, but the Jack's fate is sealed. Eventually he learns that his act of revenge was not the cause of the Englishman's death, but this does nothing to assuage his sense of guilt. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Yann (Pierre Richard) has his artistic eye on Florence (Fanny Cottencon), who desires her for more than her aesthetic beauty. His efforts are continually hampered by his neighbors Boris (Richard Bohringer), an insanely jealous layabout and his beautiful wife Eva (Emmanuelle Beart). Michel Creton and Eric Blanc play the confused cops called on to settle the situation. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

Having just seen a successful robbery, a man (Daniel Auteuil) and his roommate (Gerard Jugnot) are inspired to rob a bank themselves for some ready cash. When they burst in on the bank with their toy machine guns, most of the tellers and staff are frightened and wary, but in one case, a member of the bank staff has to show the robbers how to carry out their plan because they really do not know what they are doing. After getting to know the robbers better, the bank staff are struck by a serious conflict of interest -- should they remain loyal to the bank or not? ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

The title character in The French Woman is essayed by Francoise Fabian. Officially, Fabian is Madame Claude, the owner of a Parisian modelling agency. It is an open secret, however, that her operation actually traffics in expensive call girls. Director Just Jaeckin treats the material with the same erotic aplomb he brought to his earlier Emmanuelle films. The French Woman is liberally based on the memoirs of one Madame Claude. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this historical fantasy, based on the classic medieval poem during the days of King Arthur, the gallant Green Knight gallops into the court and makes a gruesome challenge to the Round Table Knights. He dares any of them to successfully chop off his head. If they fail, he gets to hack off theirs. Brave Gawain accepts the challenge and with a mighty swing slices off the Green Knight's noggin. Unfortunately, the headless body calmly picks up the head and places it back on his shoulders. The honor-bound Gawain then must fulfill his destiny at the palace of the Green Knight. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

This British film examines the choices individuals must make when confronted with a romantic relationship which is rewarding but does not offer them everything they want. In this sympathetic and psychologically precise drama, Alexandra Greville (Glenda Jackson), "Alex" to her friends, has a younger man as her sometime lover, the young sculptor Bob Elkin (Murray Head). Elkin is completely open about the fact that he is also the lover of her acquaintance, Dr. Daniel Hirsch (Peter Finch). These relationships continue in some kind of equilibrium until Alex and Bob agree to house-sit the children of a couple known to the three of them. In their roles, neither Head nor Finch "swished," or otherwise catered to homosexual stereotypes, and theirs was considered to be a groundbreaking, sympathetic portrayal of this kind of relationship, not condescending in any way. One highlight of the film is a scene in which Dr. Hirsch attends the Bar Mitzvah of his nephew. This critically well-received movie was unexpectedly successful at the box office. The film's director and screenwriter, as well as Jackson and Finch, were nominated for Academy Awards. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Too old to be a gamine yet not old enough for matronhood, Brigitte Bardot is the ideally cast leading lady of Serge Bourguignon's Head Over Heels. Bardot plays a thirtysomething beauty who finds herself torn between two desirable lovers. The film's alternate English-language title, Two Weeks in September, symbolically conveys the ambience of the film: Bardot is loved by a man much older than herself, and in turn falls in love with a man much younger than herself. All of the characters are old enough to know better than to enter into a menage a trois, yet this little fling may be the last chance for true happiness for at least two of the participants. Director Bourguignon collaborated on the bittersweet script of Head Over Heels, which was originally released in France as A Coeur Joie. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi