Paul Jesson Movies

The first season of the lush, lavish and frequently lewd and lascivious British historical drama Rome covers the years 52 to 44BCE, beginning with the return of Julius Caesar (Ciaran Hinds) from the Gallic wars and ending with the fateful "Ides of March". Though returning to a hero's welcome, Caesar realizes that he's stepping into a snake pit of deceit and corruption. The Patrician ruling class, worried that Caesar will make himself emperor and abolish the Republic, intend to strip him of his power. His scheming niece Atia (Polly Walker) is already undercutting her uncle by forcing her daughter Octavia (Kerry Condon) to marry Caesar's most influential nemesis, the aging Pompey (Kenneth Cranham). Playing one side against the other to keep Caesar at bay, Pompey proves so effective that Caesar must ask his friend Marc Antony (James Purefoy) to help him vanquish his foes, even if it means all-out civil war. Meanwhile, a pair of humble soldier, the virtuous family man Vorenus (Kevin McKidd) and the hedonistic Pullo (Ray Stevenson), simply try to stay out of everyone's way and survive--but instead find themselves at Ground Zero of virtually every major historical turning point during the series' turbulent eight-year timespan. Pullo in particular spends much of his time squeaking out of one death-trap after another, somehow managing to enrich or aggrandize himself without even trying. His main contribution during Season One consists of taking Atia's callow son Octavian (Max Pirkis) under his wing, teaching the boy the ways of warfare and women. Eventually Octavian will emerge as the greatest threat against the pro-Caesar forces of Antony after Caesar's assassination--and thus the redoubtable Pullo has once more unwittingly altered the course of history. Not only was Rome an international success during its first season on the air, but the series also garnered an Emmy award for its American run on HBO. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

After a rather decided departure with his 1999 homage to Gilbert and Sullivan, Topsy-Turvy, Mike Leigh returns to his usual form for All or Nothing, a melancholy look at the day-to-day lives of a dysfunctional lower-middle class British family called the Bassetts. Timothy Spall and Lesley Manville (familiar to fans of Leigh's previous films) star as Phil and Penny, a common-law husband and wife who toil their gloomy days away as a cab-driver and grocery-store cashier, respectively. When the couple come to realize the growing emptiness in their relationship, an unexpected emergency within their family brings them closer together and offers the possibility of reigniting the long-extinguished spark in their marriage. Hoping to repeat the Palm D'or win of Leigh's 1996 film Secrets and Lies, All or Nothing was screened in competition at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

A writer displays a troubling streak of opportunism in his personal and professional lives in this British drama. As the Falkland Islands war rages, journalist and aspiring historical writer James Penfield (Jonathan Pryce) is working on a book that will examine the 1965 Suez crisis in a manner compatible with the current political climate. James is also pursuing Susan Barrington (Charlie Dore), a documentary filmmaker whose mother Ann (Rosemary Harris) is a noted expert on the Suez crisis and an outspoken leftist. While James has assured his publisher that his book will take a conservative view, he tells Susan and Ann that he's a socialist and that his book will reflect that position as he attempts to glean information from them. James also sleeps with Ann as his relationship with Susan hits a rough patch, but he isn't especially forgiving when he discovers that Susan has had a fling with Jeremy Hancock (Tim Curry), a tabloid journalist who has worked with both of them. The Ploughman's Lunch includes a sequence where the characters attend the 1982 Conservative Party conference, which was shot at the actual event (and includes a speech Margaret Thatcher delivered to the assembled Tories). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Created by Lynda LaPlante, the British TV drama series Widows focused on the wives of three professional criminals, all of whom were apparently killed during a bungled robbery. Taking matters in their own hands, the widows, led by Dolly Rawlins (Ann Mitchell), vowed to finish the larcenous job that their husbands had started, and to wreak vengeance on those responsible for their widowhood. They were joined by a fourth woman, Bella O'Reilly (played first by Eva Mottley, then by Debbie Bishop), who claimed that her boyfriend was also part of the original caper. First telecast from March 16 through April 20, 1983, Widows was followed by Widows II, which aired from April 3 to May 8, 1985. On this occasion, it was revealed that one of the "dead" husbands was still alive, and very insistent that he be cut in on the loot. The subsequent rounds of betrayal and backstabbing culminated in a third series, She's Out. Widows was remade for American television in 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide