Miriam Margolyes Movies

Stella Gibbons' popular novel was published in 1932, and it has been adapted twice for British television, first as a miniseries in 1971, then by director John Schlesinger in 1995. That version proved so popular that it was released to theaters in the U.S. The heroine of Gibbons' story, Flora Poste (Kate Beckinsale), is an aspiring young writer with two needs: material for her first novel, and a cheap place to live and work. A wealthy friend encourages her to take advantage of her country cousins and impose upon them for lodgings. Flora finds Cold Comfort Farm to be a ramshackle affair populated by eccentrics including the imperious Ada Doom (Sheila Burrell), her daughter Judith (Eileen Atkins), Judith's rough but handsome son Seth (Rufus Sewell), and Amos (Ian McKellen), an amateur preacher whose sermonizing seems to release some kind of demons within him. Undaunted by this menagerie, Flora gets to work organizing the household, and she comes to realize that the material for her book is right in front of her. ~ Tom Wiener, All Movie Guide

This biography of Ludwig von Beethoven (played here by Gary Oldman) builds its narrative around an actual letter found after his death, addressed only to the composer's "immortal beloved." The responsibility of discovering this mysterious person's identity falls to Beethoven's friend and secretary (Jeroen Krabbé), who sets out on an investigation that soon becomes an exploration of the composer's life. Through recollections and scattered hints, we receive glimpses of Beethoven's relationships with women, particularly his close interaction with a pair of very different Countesses. The film also pays prominent attention to the composer's oddly obsessive relationship with the young nephew whom he attempted to mold in his own image, and Beethoven's eventual hearing loss and descent into emotional instability. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide

In Martin Scorsese's adaptation of Edith Wharton's 1920 novel, romance between an upper-class gentleman and an ostracized lady is doomed by 19th century New York society. Shortly after his engagement to blandly genteel May Welland (Winona Ryder), Newland Archer (Daniel Day-Lewis) is reacquainted with May's scandalous cousin Ellen Olenska (Michelle Pfeiffer). As the head of an esteemed family, Archer initially uses his standing to try to rehabilitate Ellen's reputation, but he finds himself increasingly drawn to her disregard for the codes of New York manners. Bound by ingrained society mores and his peers' insinuations, Newland tries to dodge his growing passion by rushing his marriage to May, but he cannot keep himself from confessing his love to Ellen. Recognizing that Newland could never abandon his sense of honor and be happy, Ellen pushes Newland to May and leaves town. The marriage proceeds as dictated, but when Newland unexpectedly sees Ellen again, he yearns for the affair to come to fruition. However, he underestimates not only what May knows but also her ability to uphold the rules of propriety. Sumptuously shot by Michael Ballhaus, the film offers meticulously designed costumes and settings that evoke a culture as seductively beautiful in its surfaces as it is stifling in its rituals. Unspoken emotions are expressed through such details as yellow roses or a clipped cigar, a fade to red or a single camera move. Using Wharton's original prose to comment on the setting's hypocrisies, Joanne Woodward's voiceover narration suggests how much decisive power is buried beneath dainty femininity. The Age of Innocence received five Oscar nominations, including Best Supporting Actress for Ryder and Best Screenplay for Scorsese and Jay Cocks, and a win for Best Costumes. Although The Age of Innocence seemed like a departure from Scorsese's prior work, Newland is as much at the mercy of his circle's Byzantine structure (and his own conscience) as are Scorsese's more familiar mobsters; Newland's persecutors just wear white tie and tails. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide

This is a modern-dress rendition of Shakespeare's famous "comedy," a semi-serious drama with a story featuring mistaken identities and confused declarations of love. Though it screens far more of the classic play's dialogue than the 1936 version featuring Laurence Olivier, some reviewers asserted that the movie's anachronistic modern settings and costumes made the play's references to ancient forms of clothing and customs confusing to those unfamiliar with the play, and irritating to those who are. Other viewers may find the amount of elaborate verbiage Shakespeare used to convey even the simplest sentiment tiresome. Despite these drawbacks, connoisseurs may enjoy the interpretations of these well-known roles by some of the better performers gracing the British stage in the 1990s, including Emma Croft, James Fox, Cyril Cusack and Celia Bannerman. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

This made-for-cable adaptation of the Tennessee Williams play documents the romance between a lonely Southern belle (Vanessa Redgrave) and a young drifter (Kevin Anderson). ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide

Lawrence Kasdan's black comedy about a wife's ultimate revenge against her womanizing husband is based on a true story about the wife of a pizzeria owner who decided to kill her cheating husband. When her attempt to murder him failed, the husband refused to press charges against her because he felt she had done the right thing. Kevin Kline is the pizzeria owner Joey Boca in I Love You to Death. Joey is a smooth Italian lothario, modeled after Marcello Mastroianni, who cheerfully dons his plumbers overalls to repair his female tenants' plumbing in the rental apartments the family owns. Joey feels he is justified in bedding down countless numbers of women because of all the hours he puts in day after day at the pizzeria. Plus, as he tells one of his women friends, "I'm a man. I got a lotta hormones in my body." His wife Rosalie (Tracey Ullman) sweetly ignores her husband's philandering -- that is until she visits the public library and sees Joey fondling one of tenants in the book stacks. At first Rosalie considers suicide, but finally, egged on by her mother Nadja (Joan Plowright), she determines that Joey must be the one to face the music. But the people Rosalie hires to do Joey in are of the cut-rate variety and are unsuccessful. They then try to knock Joey off by feeding him barbiturate-laced spaghetti, but also to no avail. Rosalie then enlists pizzeria employee Deco Nod (River Phoenix), who has a crush on Rosalie, to do the job. But even then, they have no luck. As a last resort, they try to hire professionals. What they get instead are two drugged-out junkies -- Harlan (William Hurt) and Marlin (Keanu Reeves) -- who arrive at the home and blast at a slumbering figure in the bedroom. Then, while they report on their progress downstairs, Joey ambles into the living room, very much alive. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Little Dorrit was intended as the cinematic equivalent to the mammoth, eight hour Royal Shakespeare Company's staging of Dickens' Nicholas Nickelby. The film was released to theatres in two parts, each running approximately three hours. The first part, subtitled "Nobody's Fault," introduced us to the seamstress title character (Sarah Pickering), who chooses to live in debtor's prison with her father (Alec Guinness). Good samaritan Derek Jacobi endeavors to help both father and daughter. The second part, also known as "Little Dorrit's Story," details Dorrit's escape from penury to lasting happiness. Eschewing the usual 19th century-style British music often heard in Dickensian adaptations, director Christine Edzard creatively-and effectively--opts for the strains of Giuseppe Verdi. Edzard's eye for period detail is also deserving of unbounded praise. Unfortunately, Part Two of Little Dorrit spends nearly half of its running time recapping Part One, utilizing much of the same footage. For those familiar with "Nobody's Fault," "Little Dorrit's Story" is more a redundancy than a continuation. Still, taken together, parts one and two all fully deserving of the enthusiastic critical commentary that greeted them upon their original release-not to mention the multiple Academy Award nominations bestowed upon the project and its participants. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The cast and crew of the satirical British comedy series Blackadder reunited for this perverse one-hour spin on Dickens' A Christmas Carol. Rowan Atkinson stars as Ebeneezer Blackadder, a kindly and beloved London businessman. Alas, Ebeneezer is too warm-hearted and generous to suit his greedy, grasping ancestors, who on Christmas Eve appear in spectral form to force their descendant to live down to Blackadder family tradition. Also appearing are Tony Robinson as Baldrick, Robbie Coltrane as The Spirit of Christmas, Miriam Margoyles as Queen Victoria, Jim Broadbent as Prince Albert, and Miranda Richardson in the dual role of Elizabeth I and Asphyxia XIX. A Blackadder's Christmas Carol made its British TV bow on December 22, 1988. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Anthony Hopkins stars in The Good Father as a publishing executive whose wife Julie Walters has left him, taking their son with her. Walking around like a zombie after this blow, Hopkins is brought back to life by involving himself in the profound problems of his friend Jim Broadbent. Feeling that his misguided pro-feminist stance has caused him all his trouble, Hopkins encourages Broadbent, whose own wife is leaving him with their son in tow, to fight for custody of the child in court. Hopkins even agrees to finance Broadbent's legal fees. As Broadbent's custody battle intensifies into a bitter, all-out war, Hopkins becomes more relaxed concerning his own domestic difficulties. Allowing Broadbent to be his emotional surrogate, a becalmed Hopkins feels secure enough to try to reconcile with his ex-wife Walters. But she is aware, even if he isn't, that his problems stem not from his relationship with women, but from his resentment of his son, whose birth was the beginning of the end of his marriage. Contrary to the title and his own self-deceptions, Hopkins is not "the good father." The film was scripted by Christopher Hampton from a novel by Peter Prince. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Ever anxious to one-up his fellow man, Lord Edmund Blackadder (Rowan Atkinson) enters a beer-drinking contest. On the same day as the Big Event, who should show up but Edmund's puritanical, teetotalling uncle and aunt, Lord and Lady Whiteadder (Daniel Thorndike, Miriam Margoyles). Adding to Edmund's woes is an unfortunate run-in with a turnip and an ostrich feather. "Beer" made its first British television appearance on February 11, 1986. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Dweebish architect Miles Harding (Lenny Von Dohlen) is hopelessly in love with neighboring musician Madeline (Virginia Madsen). He soon learns that Madeline already has an ardent suitor: Harding's own computer (voiced by Harold and Maude star Bud Cort)! When the electronic device, nicknamed Edgar, begins composing love songs dedicated to Madeline, Harding passes the tunes off as his own. At this point, the envious Edgar really goes to town, taking over all the electrical appliances in Harding's house--and dangerously meddling in its owner's life. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

It is now the year 1492: Edmund (Rowan Atkinson) is still jockeying to become King of England, while the actual monarch, Richard IV (Brian Blessed), is busily making enemies of everyone in Europe. In order to prevent a war with Spain, Edmund is ordered to marry that country's Princess Maria (Miriam Margoyles). This, he figures, will put him in an excellent position to fulfill his dream of ruling England -- but things don't quite work out as planned. The episode's funniest moments belong to Jim Broadbent as the Princess' interpreter, Don Speekingleesh. "The Queen of Spain's Beard" first aired on July 6, 1983. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide