Jodhi May

Having squandered his stint in the spotlight on hard drugs and reckless sex, washed-up Hollywood has-been Joe Scot (Daniel Craig) reflects on the summer of innocence and tragedy that would alter the course of his life after receiving news that his childhood best friend has suddenly died. As he makes his way back to the quiet English seaside village of his childhood in order to attend the funeral, he finds his journey into the past becoming a journey of both redemption and self-discovery as well. Oliver Twist star Harry Eden plays the young version of Scot in a drama also featuring Olivia Williams, Claire Forlani, and Eve. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A middle-aged man gives himself the challenge of a lifetime in this comedy drama from the U.K. Frank (Peter Mullan) has spent most of his 55 years working the same job in the shipyards of Glasgow until he's fired after business tapers off and technology makes his position unnecessary. While Frank tries to put on a brave face, he has no idea of what to do next or what sort of work he should find. Frank's embarrassment gets much worse when he applies for unemployment benefits, only to discover his sister-in-law Angela (Jodhi May) is working behind the corner. As Frank's anxiety grows worse, he begins having panic attacks, leading to sympathy from his wife, Joan (Brenda Blethyn), and son, Rob (Jamie Sives), which only makes him feel more humiliated. One of Frank's few respites from his troubles are his regular visits to a nearby community swimming pool, where he does laps with his pals Eddie (Sean McGinley), Norman (Ron Cook), and Danny (Billy Boyd). One day, one of them jokes about the possibility of swimming the English Channel, which is only 21 miles across at its narrowest point near Dover. However, Frank doesn't think the idea is so silly, and begins training to make the journey; while at first his family and friends think he's gone mad, his plans give him a drive and a sense of purpose he hasn't had since losing his job. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Originally produced in the U.K. for BBC1, where it first aired on October 9, 2002, the three-part miniseries Tipping the Velvet was adapted from Sarah Waters' best-selling debut novel of the same name. Set in the 1890s, the series focuses on the romance between Nan Astley (played by Rachel Stirling, daughter of actress Diana Rigg), a cook in the seaside restaurant owned by her father, and Kitty Butler (Keeley Hawes), a musical hall entertainer specializing in male impersonation. Given the strict (and somewhat hypocritical) moral restrictions of the Victorian era, the lesbian relationship between Nancy and Kitty must be kept a closely guarded secret, except in the hedonistic underground circles in which the actress and her libertine friends travel. Tipping the Velvet was brought to the US by way of the BBC America digital-cable service beginning May 23, 2003. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Produced for British television, Daniel Deronda was adapted from George Eliot's final novel, written in 1874 (and first filmed in 1921). As was her habit, Eliot laid bare the hypocrisy and venality of Victorian-era "class culture," at the same time admitting that a certain amount of conformity was necessary if one hoped to survive in a world where nonconformity was not only looked down upon but actively suppressed. Essentially, both the novel and the TV presentation are comprised of two separate stories, linked together by the titular Daniel Deronda (Hugh Dancy), a young man of Jewish heritage. In the main narrative, Daniel is attracted to the spoiled, headstrong Gwendolen Harleth (Romola Garai), who is reluctantly poised to enter into a marriage of convenience with the wealthy, snobbish, and intensely anti-Semitic Henleigh Grancourt (Hugh Bonneville). This romantic intrigue is played against the curious relationship between Daniel and the Zionist visionary Mordecai (Daniel Evans), who tirelessly proselytizes in favor of a permanent homeland for the Jewish people. Things come to a head when Daniel finds himself falling in love with Mordecai's sister Mirah (Jodhi May). Originally telecast in three parts on the BBC beginning December 7, 2002, Daniel Deronda was re-edited as a two-parter for the PBS anthology Masterpiece Theatre, where it first aired on March 30, 2003. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Adapted for the screen from Edith Wharton's much-loved novel of the same name, House of Mirth follows the fortunes -- or lack thereof -- of Lily Bart, an ambitious but financially imperiled young woman looking for a rich husband in early 20th century New York. The story opens as Lily (Gillian Anderson) takes tea at the apartment of Lawrence Selden (Eric Stoltz), a young bachelor lawyer to whom Lily is attracted but cannot marry because he is not wealthy enough for her liking. Lily stops at Selden's apartment en route to Bellomont, where she is planning to husband-hunt at the country home of shifty businessman Gus Trenor (Dan Aykroyd) and his wife. Gus agrees to invest some money for Lily, but his intentions toward her quickly turn carnal, and when she rebuffs his advances, she finds herself $9,000 in debt. Help arrives in the form of financier Sim Rosedale (Anthony LaPaglia), who extends to Lily a businesslike proposition of marriage; though she is tempted, Lily refuses his offer because he is nouveau riche rather than blueblood society. Soldiering on, Lily journeys to the Mediterranean, where she has been invited to the home of Bertha Dorset (Laura Linney), an alpha socialite who schemes to use Lily as an unwitting decoy for an affair under the nose of her husband George (Terry Kinney). When the trip starts to go bad, George tells Lily that he wants to divorce the slatternly Bertha, but needs some solid proof of her affairs in order to do so. Lily knows that one of Bertha's previous lovers was Selden, but her loyalty to him prevents her from speaking up to George. So, still in debt to Gus and given only a paltry inheritance by her aunt (Eleanor Bron), Lily endures a slew of unsuccessful jobs and, tragically, gradually sinks into the mire of genteel poverty. Directed by Terence Davies, House of Mirth premiered at the 2000 Locarno Film Festival. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide

This adaptation of the classic novel by Henry James, produced for British television and shown in the United States as part of PBS's Masterpiece Theatre series, stars Jodhi May as Miss, a young woman hired as a governess by the Master (Colin Firth), a charming but mysterious man who wants Miss to care for his two children, with the unusual stipulation that she have no contact with him. Despite this edict, Miss becomes infatuated with the Master and comes to enjoy her work; the children are good-natured and fun to care for, and she makes a good friend in housekeeper Mrs. Grose (Pam Ferris). But, one day, she sees something strange in the house: the ghost of Peter Quint (Jason Salkey), the Master's former valet, who died under mysterious circumstances. Miss learns that her predecessor as governess, Miss Jessel (Caroline Pegg), also drowned, in an incident that raised many questions, with some believing the Master to blame. Miss learns that the children can see the ghosts too, though most adults cannot, and she fears that she has fallen into a situation of grave danger. The Turn of the Screw was directed by Ben Bolt, whose previous television experience includes the series Prime Suspect and An Unsuitable Job for a Woman. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

This British-Dutch-Hungarian biographical drama combines incidents from the life of novelist Feodor Dostoyevsky with a dramatization of his short novel The Gambler. The character of Polina in the novel was based by Dostoyevsky on Polina Suslova, his 1862-63 lover. In the tradition of Dennis Potter, this film mixes fiction with reality, opening in 1870 with a woman and child seeking someone in a casino at the German resort of Baden-Baden.

The story then leaps backward to 1866 St. Petersburg, where impoverished student Anna (Jodhi May) accepts a stenographic position with cantankerous 45-year-old Dostoyevsky (Michael Gambon), who lives with his epileptic stepson Pasha (William Houston). Dostoyevsky is writing serialized installments of Crime and Punishment. He has only 27 days to write a minimum of 160 pages on another novel for the publisher Stellovsky (Thom Jansen), who has covered his gambling debts. If Dostoyevsky doesn't meet this deadline, Stellovsky will acquire the rights to all of his current and future books. Anna quits but later comes back so she can pay for her father's funeral. In the process of getting Dostoyevsky's imagination to paper, Anna soon understands that The Gambler is autobiographical -- the tale of a young couple Polina (Polly Walker) and Alexei (Dominic West) at the casino in the fictional German resort Roulettenburg, where Alexei's gambling obsession has put him in debt. As the work on The Gambler continues, an attraction develops between the author and the secretary, and scenes from the work-in-progress are featured.

In real life, Anna Grigoryevna Snitkina did indeed take shorthand on The Gambler, and she went on to become Dostoyevsky's second wife in 1867. Appearing as a gambling grandmother is movie veteran Luise Rainer. Scenes of St. Petersburg, Baden-Baden, and Roulettenburg were all shot in Hungarian locations. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

Nathaniel Hawthorne's classic novel of hypocrisy among America's pilgrims was brought to the screen by director Roland Joffe in this 1995 feature. Demi Moore stars as Hester Prynne, a new arrival to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1666. Prynne, who interacts freely with slaves and Quakers and wears revealing garb, is something of a free thinker and off-putting to the uptight locals. She awaits the arrival of her husband, Roger (Robert Duvall), but he is reported killed. One person who does not find Prynne unsettling is the new preacher, Arthur Dimmesdale (Gary Oldman). A torrid encounter between them produces a child, Pearl, and Hester is condemned by the colony, forced to wear a scarlet letter "A" (for "adultery"). Roger reappears; he had been living with a native tribe -- an experience that has driven him mad. He masquerades as "Roger Chillingsworth," trying to discover the identity of Pearl's father. When Hester is about to be executed, Dimmesdale confesses, but a timely Indian raid intervenes, saving him and Hester. The Scarlet Letter was widely derided by critics for sexualizing and changing Hawthorne's novel to an absurd degree. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

Actor William Hurt delivers one of his most acclaimed performances in this drama from Oscar-winning cinematographer-turned-director Chris Menges. Hurt stars as Graham Holt, a repressed Welsh postmaster who lives a reclusive bachelor's existence with his suicidal father (Alfred Lynch), who is in failing health and is still grieving from the recent death of Graham's mother. Knowing that he'll soon be alone, Graham applies to adopt a troubled ten-year-old boy, James (Chris Cleary Miles), whose own painful history mirrors Graham's. Throughout the long adoption process, supervised by wisecracking social worker Debbie (Jane Horrocks), Graham struggles to win James' affection and respect during weekend visits, while the boy dreams of reconciliation with his father, John (Keith Allen), who is currently serving prison time. Graham's father dies, drawing Graham and James closer, and Graham begins to feel like a real father to James. But when John is released, he appears in town with the shocking news that he is afflicted with AIDS -- and cannot care for his son. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

Polish bureaucrat Jozef Burski (Donald Sutherland) all but loses his reason for living when he is "downsized" by his government. Reduced to non-person status, Burski reaches out to his friends for moral support, but they turn their backs on him. Worse still, he doesn't know why he's been targeted for this emotional abuse; every time he tries to find out, something calamitous happens. The emotional strain takes its biggest toll on Burski's wife Mira (Anne Archer), who ends up in a state asylum. Suddenly, Burski's exile is lifted: it's all been a test of his loyalty to his homeland. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Isabelle Eberhardt dramatizes the tragic true story of the iconoclastic Swiss-born writer, who gained notoriety for both her lifestyle and her work in North Africa at the turn of the twentieth century. Eberhardt (Mathilda May) began dressing as a man and converted to Islam in her teens. As the film opens, she returns from the African desert to tend to her ailing father in Geneva. After his death, the wife of the Marquis de Mores summons her to Paris. The Marquis has gone missing in North Africa, because of Eberhardt's familiarity with the region, his wife pays her to go and track her husband down. Eberhardt settles in Algiers, where, hindered by the French authorities, she quickly gives up the search for de Mores, assuming that he's dead. She stays in North Africa, journeys frequently into the desert, and writes about her experiences for publisher Victor Barrucand (Claude Villers). The hard drinking Eberhardt meets Slimene (Tcheky Karyo of The Patriot), a Foreign Legion soldier, and falls in love with him. Through him, she makes contact with the secretive Sufi brotherhood of Qadriya. As she witnesses the abuses of the French colonists, her writings grow more political in nature and she starts to get more attention. One French military officer, Comte (Richard Moire) imprisons and abuses her. When an Arab swordsman viciously attacks her, Eberhardt holds Comte responsible. He eventually arranges for her deportation. But the resilient Eberhardt returns to North Africa, against Slimene's wishes. There, another French officer, Major Lyautey (Peter O'Toole) befriends her. He seems a decent man, but when he asks her to report to him on Arab groups hostile to the French, she wrestles with her conscience. Australian director Ian Pringle would later go on to produce Romper Stomper, starring Russell Crowe. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide