Steven Mackintosh Movies
With the blond, knowing looks of a choir boy gone wrong and a resumé boasting some of the more offbeat films and television series of the last decade, British actor Steven Mackintosh is one of the more versatile and unpredictable actors on either side of the Atlantic. Although largely unknown in the United States, Mackintosh has worked steadily in his native England since his first role at the age of 13.Born in Cambridge in 1967, Mackintosh got his start on the stage but segued into television in 1985, with parts in The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13 3/4 and The Browning Version. After touring with the National Theatre Company for two years, Mackintosh won his first screen role in 1987, as a minor character in the critically acclaimed story of playwright Joe Orton, Prick Up Your Ears. After secondary parts in two more features, 1989's Treasure Island and 1990's Memphis Belle, Mackintosh landed a leading role in Hanif Kureishi's London Kills Me (1991). Mackintosh, in his role as a hustler by the name of Muffdiver, was one of the odder and thornier aspects of an odd and thorny film. The actor's off-kilter versatility was further displayed via performances in subsequent films and television miniseries such as Roger Michell's 1993 miniseries The Buddha of Suburbia; Dennis Potter's final project, the comedy spoof Midnight Movie (1994); and an obscure 1995 film called The Grotesque, co-starring Alan Bates and Sting.
In 1996, Mackintosh came to the attention of American art house audiences, first with his turn as Sebastian in Trevor Nunn's lavish screen adaptation of William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. Co-starring Helena Bonham Carter, Richard E. Grant, and Nigel Hawthorne, the film received favorable reviews which nicely complemented those garnered by Mackintosh's other outing, Different for Girls. Mackintosh co-starred with Rupert Graves as a prim transsexual in the comedy, which was remarkable for both its complex subject matter and the honesty with which such matter was dealt. The release of the film in such close context with that of Twelfth Night also gave Mackintosh further opportunity to display his startling flexibility, something he did again the following year with the World War II drama The Land Girls. After his turn as an amorous farmer, Mackintosh characteristically went in a completely different direction, with his hilarious portrayal of a ne'er-do-well pot grower in the 1998 film Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels. The film, which was equal parts Quentin Tarantino and testosterone, was a smash hit in Britain, and made another offbeat addition to Mackintosh's already diverse resumé. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
The off-beat love story between Paul and Kim provides the framework of this quirky British melodrama. The two meet after the taxi in which the attractive Kim rides collides with manly courier Paul and his motorcycle. Paul is utterly fascinated with Kim and swears that he has seen her before. He has. In fact the two were childhood friends in Catholic boys school, but back then, before the operation, Kim was named Karl. Now as a woman, Kim works as a successful writer for a greeting-card company while Paul, still wild and irresponsible, gets work while he can. The two gingerly renew their friendship and eventually it becomes something much deeper. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steven Mackintosh, Rupert Graves, (more)
Helen Mirren returns as police detective Jane Tennison in the fifth cycle of the award-winning television series Prime Suspect. Tennison is transferred to Manchester, where her superiors, unsure of what to do with her, initially put her in the public relations department, explaining police work to schoolchildren. Tennison wants a more substantial assignment, and she gets her wish when she is sent out to investigate the murder of a drug pusher. But Tennison quickly discovers the case is more complex than she imagined; a 14-year-old boy has claimed responsibility for the murder, but she believes the true culprit is a man known as "The Street" (Steven Mackintosh), who controls Manchester's drug traffic and has a number of lieutenants to cover his tracks. Tennison also finds herself in potentially hot water when she becomes romantically involved with DCS Ballinger (John McArdle), who is her superior -- and also a married man. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Helen Mirren, John McArdle, (more)
The classic Shakespearean comedy about mistaken identity and gender confusion is brought to the screen once again in this British production, courtesy of screenwriter-director Trevor Nunn. Nunn has transferred the time period to the Victorian Era of the late 19th century. Two twins, Viola (Imogen Stubbs) and Sebastian (Steven MacKintosh), are separated when their ship capsizes. Each believes that the other has drowned. Viola washes ashore on the coast of Illyria. She disguises herself as a man and assumes the name Cesario so that she can take a position as an aide to the Duke, Orsinio (Toby Stephens). Orsinio desires Olivia (Helena Bonham Carter), who refuses his attentions. He also flirts with Maria (Imelda Staunton), Olivia's maid. Orsinio sends Cesario as an emissary to Olivia. The foppish Sir Andrew Aguecheek (Richard E. Grant) also seeks Olivia's love. He is a friend of her besotted uncle, Sir Toby Belch (Mel Smith). With the clownish philosopher Feste (Ben Kingsley), all these members of Olivia's household plot to embarrass the dour Malvolio (Nigel Hawthorne), a butler who has no tolerance for frivolity. They fool Malvolio into thinking that Olivia desires him, and when he confesses his love, Olivia orders him imprisoned as a madman. Sebastian then turns up and is mistaken for Cesario. A series of mishaps follows. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Helena Bonham Carter, Imogen Stubbs, (more)
- 1995
The Grotesque (aka Grave Indiscretion, aka Gentleman Don't Eat Poets) is a very black, very British comedy that puts an unusual and perversely entertaining spin on the classic tea-cup-and-intrigue mystery. Sir Hugo Coal (Alan Bates) is a grumpy, eccentric English gentleman (and self-styled paleontologist) obsessed with reconstructing a dinosaur skeleton with bones dredged up from a nearby moor. He is also penniless, and so must live vicariously off the inheritance of his smoldering American wife Harriet (Theresa Russell). Enter: the crafty and secretive Fledge (Sting) and his wife and co-conspirator Doris (Trudie Styler) the new Coal family servants. Fledge immediately sets his sights on Harriet and the Coal fortune, Doris on the household wine cellar. When Hugo and Harriet's daughter Cleo (Lena Headey) announces her engagement to demure poet Sidney Giblet (Steven Mackintosh), Hugo is less than pleased, but not for long, since Sidney is murdered soon after and, we learn, his body gruesomely disposed of. As the rivalry between Fledge and Hugo escalates, Cleo, the police, and the poet's shrewd mother Mrs. Giblet (Anna Massey) follow a trail of clues from the swampy, bone-littered moor to the Coal pig sties and finally (rather horribly) back to the Coal dinner table. Though criticized for its irreverent humor and somewhat ambiguous ending, The Grotesque is worth a watch. Sting and his real-life partner Trudie Styler (who co-produced the film) are both wonderful as the loathsome, manipulative servants, as is Anna Massey as the poet's investigative mother. The real stars of the film, however, are not the actors, but the dense, ornamental interiors provided by Jan Roelfs and Michael Seirton. Every corner of the Coal mansion is littered with artifacts and art objects, every frame crawling with worms, frogs, and reptiles. Like a Dutch still life, The Grotesque is simultaneously repellent and attractive, a painterly assemblage of morbidity and dramatic artifice. ~ Anthony Reed, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alan Bates, Theresa Russell, (more)
Hey all you gremmies! Let's wax up our boards, load up the woodie and hit the beach for a big day of surfing in ... Cornwall, England? Blue Juice takes a look at a small but hardy group of British surfing enthusiasts who have learned to make the best of the flat waves and low tides of their homeland. Thirtysomething JC (Sean Pertwee) has been the local king of the surfing scene for some time, much to the chagrin of his girlfriend Chloe (Catherine Zeta-Jones), who would like JC to pay a little more attention to her and perhaps start doing something useful with his life. One night, JC's buddies Dean (Ewan McGregor), a small time drug dealer, and Josh (Steven Mackintosh), a record producer, show up with their pal Terry (Peter Gunn) in tow. Terry is about to get married, and they figure that they should take him out for a good time before he puts on the harness. JC is eager to tag along, but Chloe is annoyed at JC for leaving her alone at home for yet another night, and she gives him his walking papers. JC is thinking of hooking up with some friends to check out some real waves elsewhere, but Chloe starts to think that she would like to give JC another chance. Blue Juice was released a year before Ewan McGregor had his commercial breakthrough in Trainspotting, and three years before The Mask of Zorro would make Catherine Zeta-Jones a star. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sean Pertwee, Catherine Zeta-Jones, (more)
- 1994
Based on author Ruth Rendell's novel of the same name, A Dark Adapted Eye follows the jealous and arguably insane path of the domineering Vera Hillyard (Celia Imrie), whose obsessive need to control her sons (the older is prone to demonstrating decidedly aggressive behavior, the younger may or may not be legitimate) and daughter plays a prominent role in her own undoing. Meanwhile, her manipulative sister, Eden (Sophie Ward), ultimately provokes Vera into what the community believes to be the deliberate murder of a child. Directed by Tim Fywell, the film also features Helena Bonham Carter, Jason Durr, Guy Witcher, and Robin Ellis. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Helena Bonham Carter, Celia Imrie, (more)
Loosely based on an actual incident, this family-friendly British comedy is also a sly satire of class consciousness. Phoebe Cates stars as a woman who appears in the English countryside of 1817 wearing exotic garb and speaking gibberish. Delivered to a nearby manor, the mystery woman is sheltered by the Worralls (Wendy Hughes and Jim Broadbent), who are then persuaded by their suspicious Greek butler Frixos (Kevin Kline, Cates' real-life husband) to have the drifter tried for vagrancy and begging, capital crimes. At the hearing, however, the woman persuades the magistrate through pantomime that she is a princess of Javanese origin named Caraboo, escaped from pirate kidnappers. The Worralls welcome Caraboo back into their home, lavishing upon her the deference due a royal. A society sensation, Caraboo wins over a linguist (John Lithgow), the prince regent (John Session), and even Frixos. Only an Irish reporter, Gutch (Stephen Rea), remains skeptical about Caraboo's origins. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Phoebe Cates, Jim Broadbent, (more)
- 1994
- PG
Unlike the barren and forbidding moors elsewhere in England, Return of the Native's Egdon Heath attires itself in vibrant wildflowers, mossy hillsides, winding streams, arching footbridges, and undulant meadows. An enchantress would be at home in this place, but not Eustacia Vye, portrayed by Zeta-Jones. Though coveted by every man in Egdon Heath -- and every boy old enough to stare -- the beautiful Eustacia longs for the smoking chimneys and broad stone buildings of Paris. When a native of Egdon Heath, Clym Yeobright Ray Stevenson, returns from his job in Paris as a jeweler, Vye stuns him with her beauty and marries him in hopes of persuading him to take her to Paris. But, alas, Clym is a clod at heart. He vows to remain in Egdon Heath to teach and edify. After his eyesight deteriorates, Eustacia turns her attentions to rakish Damon Wildeve Clive Owen, and the plot begins to churn and curdle. ~ Mike Cummings, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Catherine Zeta-Jones, Clive Owen, (more)
Twelfth century warrior-turned-monk Brother Cadfael (Derek Jacobi) tackles another murder mystery in the 90-minute drama "The Sanctuary Sparrow." A prominent goldsmith is robbed and murdered during his son's wedding. Accused of the crime, traveling juggler Walter (Roy Barraclough) takes refuge in Shrewbury Abbey. Believing in the juggler's innocence, Cadfael uses his scientific know-how to scrutinize the clues at hand -- and comes to the unpleasant conclusion that the actual murderer is someone he knows all too well. Adapted by Russell Lewis from the novel by Ellis Peters, "The Sanctuary Sparrow" aired in England on June 5, 1994, then ran in the U.S. as part of the PBS anthology Mystery. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1994
This British parody is the last film of famed television writer Dennis Potter. The story centers upon a terribly tacky British horror film "Smoke Rings," which featured the screaming talents of the ambitious, sexy model and starlet Mandy Mason, who mysteriously died soon after the film was produced. U.S. producer James Boyce and his wife Amber, a Cockney fluffhead, are staying in a rented home in England. Amber's mother is Mandy Mason. Harris is the lawyer who found the rental for the Boyce's. His favorite film is "Smoke Rings," and he still has a crush on the late Miss Mason. When he attends a dinner with the Boyce's he is delighted to find that his favorite film is the midnight feature on the television. A few days later, Amber begins to exhibit disturbing behavior--behavior which parallels that of her mother, and of her mother's character in "Smoke Rings." ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jim Carter, Louise Germaine, (more)
In the new tradition of "Tales of the City," this long, complex British satire profiles a decade in the life of a British family. The story opens in a South London suburb where main protagonist Karim Amir lives with his Indian father, Haroon, and his English mother during the 1970's. Haroon is a civil servant who makes extra cash, and gains notoriety for teaching "Eastern Philosophies," of which he knows nothing. Still, as Buddhism is in fashion, people pay him a bundle to hear his vapid, happy ramblings. When not preaching, Haroon is trysting with a rich follower, Eva Kay. Karim's mother learns of the affair and leaves with his younger brother. Karim stays with his father and his new love. He begins a career on the stage. The story also follows Charlie, Eva's boy as he aspires to become a rocker. Other plots and subplots abound in this film. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roshan Seth, Naveen Andrews, (more)
Brian Henson, the son of Muppet founder Jim Henson, took over directing duties after the untimely death of his father for The Muppet Christmas Carol, a sluggish re-telling of the Charles Dickens tale. Michael Caine, surrounded by legions of fuzzy, felt puppets, plays it straight as the crotchety Ebenezer Scrooge, an old miser who could care less about Christmas and the joy the season brings. Working for the skinflint is his faithful employee Bob Cratchit (Kermit the Frog), who begs Scrooge for a day off for Christmas. Scrooge reluctantly agrees and goes home on Christmas Eve filled with bile at the holiday merrymakers. But then he is visited by the sprits of Christmas Past, Present, and Future, and Scrooge, after revisiting his sorrowful past, hate-filled present, and doomed future, turns over a new leaf and becomes the most generous and celebratory person in town. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Caine, Steve Whitmire, (more)
- 1991
- R
Screenwriter Hanif Kureishi marked his directorial debut in this slice-of-life chronicle about a collection of drug-dealing slackers in London. Centering on a band of delinquents calling themselves "the posse," the group is led by an ambitious male hustler named Muffdiver (Steven Mackintosh). His friend, Mr. Clint Eastwood (Justin Chadwick), begins to wonder about Muffdiver when he announces that he will no longer sell drugs for the gang. But soon Clint is wondering about himself, and after being beaten and stripped naked, he decides to go legitimate and look for a real job. He applies to a chic restaurant for a job as a waiter. The owner, Hemingway (Brad Dourif), promises to hire him if he comes back to the restaurant wearing a good pair of shoes. Obsessed with landing the job, he tries any way he can to get the pair of shoes. Impressed by the efforts of Clint and Muffdiver to get normal jobs, Sylvie (Emer McCourt), a drug addict who lives with the two, is inspired to leave the street life behind herself and pursue a more ordinary vocation. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Justin Chadwick, Steven Mackintosh, (more)
Unabashedly sentimental, this war film was produced by David Putnam in partnership with Catherine Wyler, whose father William Wyler directed an acclaimed documentary about the real-life events depicted in the film. The ensemble cast is composed of ten young actors portraying the crew of the World War II B-17 bomber "Memphis Belle," anticipating their 25th and last mission before they will be able to go home. Having won fame with their exemplary war record and amazing lack of casualties, they expect their final assignment to be a cakewalk, but instead they are ordered to bomb Bremen, a heavily defended German city that will mean almost certain loss of life. Led by their experienced captain, Dennis Dearborn (Matthew Modine), the crew shoulders its responsibility despite mounting fears, while their commanding officer (David Strathairn) and a public relations specialist (John Lithgow) wait anxiously for their return. Aboard the bomber, there's friction between Dearborn and his disgruntled co-pilot Luke Sinclair (Tate Donovan), and between medical officer Val Kozlowski (Billy Zane) and the rest of the crew when it's learned that Val lied about his qualifications. Despite impressive technical credits and a popular Generation-X cast, Memphis Belle (1990) was a box-office disappointment, its enthusiastic patriotism considered a throwback to a bygone era of filmmaking. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Matthew Modine, Eric Stoltz, (more)
- 1989
This full-blooded TV adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island was written, produced and directed by Frasier Heston. His father, Charlton Heston plays Long John Silver. Eschewing the cuteness of Wallace Beery and the unadulterated ham of Robert Newton, Heston plays the character as written: a cold, crafty, cunning rogue, by turns charming and deadly, but never to be underestimated. The plot adheres with utter fidelity to the Stevenson novel, beginning with innkeeper's son Jim Hawkins (Christian Bale) finding himself in possession of a treasure map from the doomed Captain Billy Bones (Oliver Reed). In the company of Dr. Livesey (Julian Glover) and Squire Trelawny (Richard Johnson), Jim ships out on the Hispaniola, in search of gold doubloons and pieces of eight. Hand-picking the crew for this mission is the ship's one-legged cook Long John Silver, who fully intends to mutiny, kill the treasure hunters, and claim the gold for himself. Featured in the cast are Clive Woods as Captain Smollett, Christopher Lee as Blind Pew, and Nicholas Amer as addled hermit Ben Gunn. Treasure Island premiered January 22, 1990, over the TNT cable network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
This unadorned biography of playwright Joe Orton (Gary Oldman) charts his bawdy, dangerous relationships. Alfred Molina plays Orton's brutish lover, Kenneth Halliwell, a pathetic figure who becomes horrific and then tragic before the film is over. The hilarity of scenes from such Orton plays as Loot and What the Butler Saw is evenly balanced by the bleakness of the playwright's tormented (and tormenting) off-stage existence, which ended suddenly at age 34 with half a dozen blows to the head from a hammer. Prick Up Your Ears is based on the book by theater critic John Lahr, who is played in the film by Wallace Shawn. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gary Oldman, Alfred Molina, (more)
- 1985
Robert Ashby guest stars in the Doctor Who adventure "Timelash" as the Borad, a mutant dictator. Hoping to wipe out the population of his own planet so that he can create a new, "superior" race, the Borad declares war on a neighboring world. Those who oppose his plans are exiled to a time corridor called the Timelash -- which is where the Doctor (Colin Baker) and Peri (Nicola Bryant) have arrived to rescue an old friend. Written by Glen McCoy, the two-part "Timelash" originally aired on March 9 and March 16, 1985; it has since been edited into a four-part serial for American television. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Colin Baker, Nicola Bryant, (more)
