Cathy Murphy Movies
- 2007
Adapted from the best-selling novel by author Clare Allan, director Benjamin Ross' made for television drama follows the unlikely friendship between a psychiatric patient who lives to sponge off the system, and the newly arrived patient who causes her to question everything she ever thought she knew. N (Anna Maxwell Martin) has spent the last thirteen years living in a North London psychiatric ward, and she'd do it all over again if given the opportunity. She's made it her mission in life never to be released, and she's willing to do whatever it takes to remain institutionalized for life. Her life is changed forever with the sudden appearance of a new patient named Poppy Shakespeare (Naomie Harris), an elegant yet temperamental woman who insists that she isn't insane. But while N can't quite understand Poppy's reasons for wanting to escape the mental ward, she's more than happy to help her new friend try. The only problem now is that in order for Poppy to qualify for release, N must help prove that she's not insane. . . but how does one go about proving their sanity when in order to do so they must first appear to be mad? ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Naomie Harris, Anna Maxwell Martin, (more)
An orphaned young woman struggles to overcome a difficult childhood and her later experiences as a prostitute in this period drama set in 18th century London. Drawing only loose inspiration from the Daniel Dafoe novel that provided the film's title, writer-director Pen Densham creates a new story surrounding the title character of Moll Flanders (Robin Wright). The daughter of a thief, young Moll is placed in the care of a nunnery after the execution of her mother. However, the actions of an abusive priest lead Moll to rebel as a teenager, escaping to the dangerous streets of London. Further misfortunes drive her to accept a job as a prostitute from the conniving Mrs. Allworthy (Stockard Channing). It is there that Moll first meets Hibble (Morgan Freeman), who is working as Allworthy's servant but takes a special interest in the young woman's well-being. With his help, she retains hope for the future, ultimately falling in love with an unconventional artist (John Lynch) who promises the possibility of romantic happiness. While Densham's script reflects the intricate plots and varied characters of the period's novels, the often deliberate film stresses Moll's self-determination and emotional journey over the narrative's melodrama. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robin Wright Penn, Morgan Freeman, (more)
- 1994
This collection of skits from the fourth series of French & Saunders lives up to its title. Although the comedic duo takes aim at British culture, BBC TV, pop stars, and the Middle Ages, most of the material focuses on Hollywood parody. Dawn French takes on a pair of box-office villains as she pokes fun at Anthony Hopkins in Silence of the Lambs and Kathy Bates in Misery; partner Jennifer Saunders, meanwhile, essays the Jodie Foster and James Caan roles, respectively. French experiences the familiar progression from face-hugger to stomach-exploder in a send-up of Aliens that also features Kathy Burke standing in for Jenette Goldstein as Pvt. Vasquez. Thelma and Louise also gets the patented F&S treatment. Other sketches include faux music videos for the Mamas and the Papas, Guns N' Roses, and Shakespear's Sister; "Lucky Bitches," a parody of celebrity sisters Joan and Jackie Collins; and an elaborate re-creation of the historical soap House of Eliott, in which the show's original stars, Stella Gonet and Louise Lombard, appear. The DVD edition of French & Saunders: At the Movies also includes the duo's 1999 Christmas special French & Saunders: The Phantom Millennium, an elaborate parody of Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders, (more)
This dramatic love story takes place in a British prison. Rachel, a young dentist, decides to take a part-time job at a nearby prison after she and her husband are separated. There, she meets Philip, whose ten-year incarceration for killing his girlfriend is almost up. Rachel and Philip fall in love, which is a breach of Rachel's professional contract. Towler, fellow inmate and former drug dealer, finds out and blackmails Rachel into bringing contraband to prison. When Rachel learns that she is to bring a gun to Towler, she changes her mind, but as she tries to leave she finds herself a target in a shoot-out. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim Roth, Julia Ormond, (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)
This demented fusion of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde with the legend of Jack the Ripper marks one of the final roles for Anthony Perkins, and certainly one of the weirdest performances of his career. Perkins plays Dr. Jekyll as more of a dedicated 19th-century man of medicine than an obsessed eccentric -- whose research into a safe form of anaesthetic leads to the accidental discovery of cocaine! Jekyll's inadvertent freebasing of the vapors from a cocaine/ether mixture triggers his transformation into Hyde - a murderer of prostitutes who dubs himself "Jack," thus allowing the convenient transition into the "Jack the Ripper" phase of the plot. This Hungarian production has fairly high production values, but Perkins' over-the-top antics and some glaring anachronisms (Jack's streetwalker victims sport accessories that look like Madonna's hand-me-downs) make it impossible to take seriously as a horror film. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anthony Perkins, Glynis Barber, (more)
Gaston Leroux's classic tale of love and suspense gets a face-lift in this horror story loosely adapted from Leroux's novel. Christine (Jill Schoelen) is a young classical vocalist who, in the midst of performing a recently discovered piece by an obscure composer, is struck on the head by a sandbag and wakes up in London in 1884. Eric Destler (Robert Englund) is a composer who is desperate to succeed -- so much so that he sells his soul to the devil in exchange for writing songs that people will love. However, the devil adds a twist to the bargain by horribly scarring Eric's face, which can only be disguised by flesh from a living victim. Living below the London Opera House, Eric works night and day on his music; when he hears Christine's voice he falls in love, he and lures her to his lair. Eric decides that Christine is the perfect woman to sing his music; he coaches her to a perfect interpretation of his work, and he kills anyone who stands between her and success. Future Saturday Night Live star Molly Shannon made her film debut in a small role in the film's modern day sequences. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Englund, Jill Schoelen, (more)
- 1987
Dillon is a very buttoned-down bookkeeper and appears to be just about as prim as it's possible to be. Perhaps that's because he is an illegitimate child raised by his unconventional grandmother after his parents died. Though he has become a rather conservative fellow, when a pair of aging ne'er-do-wells recount stories of his father and the band he played in (The Pink Frogs), he is thrilled. However, he's not sure what to make of the excitement in his grandmother's life these days: the man who loved her and left her forty years ago has come back into her life and is asking to marry her. On top of that, Dillon has a girlfriend who is something of a free spirit herself and is prone to ask him searching questions at the most awkward times. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sheila Hancock, Peter Capaldi, (more)
This weak, self-conscious, made-for-TV comedy (one of producer David Puttnam's "First Love" series) is about four girlfriends who play soccer during their teen years and cheer on their favorite soccer players as well. The story begins with one of the four, the sports reporter Julia (Julia Goodman), getting a ride home from a sports broadcast with her girlhood hero, Danny Blanchflower -- and then flashbacks take the scenario to Julia's teen years with her three friends and the difficulties, triumphs, and excitement they shared as soccer consumed their lives. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Zoe Nathenson, Julia Goodman, (more)
Director Alan Clarke's influential television drama Made in Britain marked the screen debut of actor Tim Roth. Roth plays Trevor, a skinhead with a swastika tattoo on his forehead who lashes out verbally and sometimes physically at everything that surrounds him. Cinematographer Chris Menges (who would go on to win Oscars for his work on The Killing Fields and The Mission), gets his camera right in Roth's snarling face, as the film tracks Trevor's progress through the British justice system. In the courtroom, charged with attacking a Pakistani man and vandalizing his store, Trevor displays absolutely no remorse as he matter-of-factly admits that he knew the man would have to be hospitalized for his injuries. Trevor's social worker, Harry (Eric Richard), recognizes Trevor's intelligence, but he's running out of ways to convince Trevor to straighten out his life. Harry takes him to a juvenile detention center for "assessment," after which he'll be sentenced. Trevor immediately dismisses Peter (Bill Stewart), the put-upon supervisor of the center, as a "wanker." He meets his black roommate, Errol (Terry Richards), whom he quickly convinces to come out with him on a car-stealing, glue-sniffing, job-center-vandalizing day trip. Brazenly returning to the detention center in a stolen car, Trevor eventually provokes Peter into locking him in a classroom, so a police superintendent (Geoffrey Hutchings) can harangue him about the hopeless path his life is taking. Trevor refuses to accept the center's (and society's) standards for "good behavior," raging that they all just want everyone to follow the rules and keep their mouths shut. The script was written by David Leland (Wish You Were Here) and the songs on the soundtrack are by the anarchist hardcore band the Exploited. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
