Rosamund Pike

A suburban teen in the midst of London's swinging '60s life is shaken up when a handsome socialite hits town in this coming-of-age drama from director Lone Scherfig (Just Like Home). Dominic Cooper, Peter Sarsgaard, Alfred Molina, and Emma Thompson star in the BBC Films production. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide

An average guy named Diego becomes the target of a dangerous gangster known as the Chief after damaging the criminal's car and meeting the girl of his dreams in writer/director Marco Martani's gritty and stylish crime drama. When Diego damaged an average car on the street, he had no idea that the car belonged to a dangerous crime kingpin known only as the Chief. Determined to seek retribution for the damage done, the Chief sets out to track Diego down. But Diego is oblivious to the threat that's about to turn his world upside down, and upon meeting a beautiful girl named Asia he believes he's finally found his soul mate. When Asia becomes an unfortunate victim in the Chief's violent plot for revenge, Diego sets out to teach the Chief a lesson in humility. But Diego has underestimated the power and influence of his ruthless rival, a miscalculation that could cost him his life. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A structural engineer (Anthony Hopkins) and an ambitious young district attorney (Ryan Gosling) become locked in a deadly battle of wits when the former is found innocent in the attempted murder of his wife in director Gregory Hoblit's tense tale of courtroom mind games. Ted Crawford (Hopkins) is an engineer who lives with his wife, Jennifer (Embeth Davidtz), in the couple's lavish Southern California home. One day, after carefully planning out the details to ensure that there is no way he can be convicted of murder, Ted shoots his wife in a blatant attempt to kill the woman. When head hostage negotiator Rob Nunally (Billy Burke) arrives on the scene to speak with Ted, he is shocked to find that the victim of the shooting is in fact his longtime lover. Though Jennifer survives the trauma of being shot in the head at close range, she hovers comatose between life and death as star prosecutor Willy Beachum (Gosling) reluctantly accepts the case while preparing to leave the Los Angeles criminal court system behind for a more promising career at a posh private law firm. Though the DA (David Strathairn) vehemently resents Beachum's lofty plan for departure, the hotshot young lawyer remains convinced that he can expedite the apparently open-and-shut case and be on his way to greener pastures in one week's time at the very most. Beachum's swelling ego betrays him, however, as his future boss Nikki Gardner (Rosamund Pike) begins to turn up the heat and fracture mechanics specialist Ted chooses to represent himself at the trial knowing well that a career spent spotting structural flaws in aeronautical systems has instilled him with just the kind of argumentative skills needed to riddle the swaggering young lawyer's "foolproof" case with doubt. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Jane Austen's perennially popular story of the game of love among the British upper classes returns to the screen in this polished film adaptation. The Bennetts (Brenda Blethyn and Donald Sutherland) are the parents of five daughters near the close of the 18th century. Comfortable within their means but well short of rich, Mr. and Mrs. Bennett are looking for suitable husbands for their girls, and they are encouraged to learn that an eligible young bachelor from a wealthy family, Charles Bingley (Simon Woods), has moved into a nearby estate. Eager to see if a match can be made, the Bennetts bring their daughters Elizabeth (Keira Knightley) and Jane (Rosamund Pike) to a ball thrown by their new neighbor to see if sparks will fly. Jane seems to like Charles, and he appears to feel the same, but Elizabeth takes an immediate dislike to Darcy (Matthew MacFadyen), Charles' egocentric best friend. While Elizabeth is infatuated with military man Lt. Wickham (Rupert Friend) and finds herself courted by William Collins (Tom Hollander), a well-meaning but drab man of the cloth, fate causes Elizabeth and Darcy to frequently cross paths, and while they don't care for one another, they can't stop thinking about each other, either. Pride & Prejudice also stars Jena Malone, Judi Dench, and Penelope Wilton. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A man who lives for pleasure finds his hedonism betrays him in time in this film adaptation of the play by Stephen Jeffreys. The second Earl of Rochester, John Wilmot (Johnny Depp), was a notorious figure in 17th century Europe; well-respected as a poet and author, Wilmot also earned no small degree of gossip for his freewheeling sex life and appetite for decadence. Wilmot was close friends with Charles II (John Malkovich), the powerful and Machiavellian ruler of England, and enjoyed a passionate romance with Elizabeth Barry (Samantha Morton), an actress of note. But Wilmot's seemingly charmed life took a turn for the worse when he wrote a satirical play lampooning his friend Charles II; the monarch failed to see the humor, and exiled the author from Britain. Wilmot found little solace in his relationship with Barry, especially after he contracted syphilis and began drinking heavily as the disease tore away at his body and his mind. The Libertine was produced in part by John Malkovich, who played the role of John Wilmot in a production of Stephen Jeffreys' original play. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The first British TV version of Nancy Mitford's autobiographical novel Love in a Cold Climate was telecast in seven hour-long installments in 1980. This 2001 version attempted to crystallize Mitford's long and labyrinthine narrative into a mere 150 minutes, and for the most part it succeeded. Set during the period from 1929 to 1940, the story (which also incorporates elements of another Mitford novel, The Pursuit of Love) largely takes place in an English country estate presided over by Matthew Radlett (Alan Bates), for whom the word "eccentric" must have been coined. When she isn't being "hunted" by her zany uncle for sport, Matthew's niece Fanny (Rosamund Pike), who serves as narrator, looks on compassionately while her cousin Linda (Elisabeth Dermot-Walsh) and her friend Polly (Megan Dodds) desperately seek out worthwhile and decent husbands, only to be thwarted at every turn by deceitful, duplicitous, dissolute, disagreeable, and otherwise unsuitable young swains. First telecast by the BBC on February 4, 2001, Love in a Cold Climate was shown in America as a two-part installment of PBS's Masterpiece Theatre on February 11 and 18, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide