Stephen Rea Movies
Exhibiting perpetual intensity and the dark, hangdog looks of someone who has been run over by life one too many times, Stephen Rea is one of Ireland's most popular and well-respected actors. Although he has acted in films in diverse genres, Rea is most closely associated with his collaborations with director Neil Jordan, particularly The Crying Game, for which he earned Oscar and BAFTA nominations.Born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in 1943, Rea was brought up in a working-class Protestant family. After training at the Abbey Theatre School, he began acting on the stage, screen, and television, making his film debut in the 1970 thriller Cry of the Banshee. He first collaborated with Jordan in 1982 on Angel, a crime drama in which he played a saxophonist who witnesses a number of brutal murders. The two again collaborated in 1984 on The Company of Wolves, a modern retelling of the Little Red Riding Hood fairy tale. That same year, Rea worked with Mike Leigh on Four Days in July; he would later work with him on Leigh's celebrated Life is Sweet (1991). In addition to his work on the screen, Rea formed the Field Day Theatre Company with playwrights Brian Friel and Seamus Heaney, bringing theatre to rural communities across Ireland.
In 1992, Rea was introduced to international audiences with his role as an IRA "volunteer" in The Crying Game. Thanks to the film's great success and the praise surrounding his performance, Rea went on to appear in a number of high profile films, including Jordan's adaptation of Interview with the Vampire and Robert Altman's Ready to Wear, in which he gave a delightful portrayal of an egotistical fashion photographer. In addition to further collaborations with Jordan (1996's Michael Collins, 1997's The Butcher Boy), Rea continued to do solid work in films ranging from dramas (This is My Father, 1998) to comedy spoofs (Still Crazy, also 1998). In 1999 alone, Rea could be seen in no less than four divergent films. Following a turn as a psychiatrist in the big-budget thriller In Dreams, he starred as a bohemian photographer with a predilection for young, deeply insecure women in Audrey Wells' celebrated Guinevere. Later that year, he returned to Ireland for I Could Read the Sky and then starred alongside Julianne Moore and Ralph Fiennes in the adaptation of Graham Greene's The End of the Affair. Over the next several years, Rea would prove to be a consistent presence on screen, appearing in movies like The Good Shepherd, Control, V for Vendetta, and Underworld: Awakening. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, Rovi
This large, sprawling comedy directed by Robert Altman concerns a variety of romantic and personal intrigues that intersect against the backdrop of Paris's annual "Pret-a-Porter" fashion extravaganza. With 31 principal characters and a number of cameos from well known models, designers, actors and actresses, there's far too much going on to describe the film in a limited space, but Julia Roberts and Tim Robbins get stuck in a hotel room together, Danny Aiello wears a dress, Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni reignite their old passion (or at least try to), Stephen Rea humiliates a number of female journalists, Kim Basinger often looks dumbfounded, and Lyle Lovett plays a Texan (talk about imaginative casting!). Originally called Pret-a-Porter, this underwent a last-minute title change when the distributor discovered very few Americans understood what the French phrase means, with the English translation taking its place. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Sophia Loren, Marcello Mastroianni, (more)
In this successful psychological thriller, a reluctant agent of the Irish Republican Army discovers that some people just aren't who you expect them to be. Fergus (Stephen Rea) is an IRA "volunteer" who, despite personal misgivings, takes part in the kidnapping of a black British soldier, Jody (Forest Whitaker), stationed in Northern Ireland. The IRA hopes to use Jody as a bargaining chip to win the release of IRA operatives behind bars, but, while guarding Jody, Fergus becomes fast friends with his prisoner. Jody makes Fergus promise him that if he dies, Fegus will look in on his girlfriend, Dil (Jaye Davidson), and see if she's all right. Jody escapes, and Fergus doesn't have the heart to shoot him; as fate would have it, Jody runs from the woods into a street only to be run over by a British police vehicle, which then flushes out the IRA compound. Fergus escapes to London, where he's wanted by the law for Jody's kidnapping and also by his former girlfriend, IRA operative Jude (Miranda Richardson), who thinks he knows too much to fall into the hands of the British authorities. Good to his word, Fergus tracks down Dil, and soon the two outcasts find themselves entering into a love affair, although Fergus discovers that Dil is not the sort of woman he thought she was. Writer/director Neil Jordan won an Academy Award for his screenplay; the title song, which was a U.K. hit for Dave Berry in 1965, was re-recorded for the film by one-time Culture Club vocalist Boy George with backing by the Pet Shop Boys. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Stephen Rea, Jaye Davidson, (more)
- 1992
- R
An Irish married couple (Stephen Rea and Sinead Cusack) tend to define their lives according to the opinions of others. When little crises regarding his job and her parenting skills begin to develop, Rea and Cusack are devastated. When their friends and business acquaintances begin turning sour, they are debilitated. And when the planned renovation of their bathroom goes awry, they are utterly destroyed. The improvisational banter between the two stars was achieved by director Les Blair after extensive, laissez-faire rehearsals. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Stephen Rea, Sinéad Cusack, (more)
- 1990
- R
Mike Leigh's situation comedy about a lower middle-class family in the London suburbs is a slice-of-life chronicle that subtly reveals the pain and rage underneath the surface of day-to-day conventions. The youngish parents, Wendy (Alison Steadman) and Andy (Jim Broadbent) live with their 20-something twin daughters, Nicola (Jane Horrocks) and Natalie (Claire Skinner). Natalie, a plumber's assistant, is clean-cut and forever looks on the bright side of life. Nicola, who is unemployed, has nothing but contempt for conventionality. As the daughters deal with the obsessively sunny Wendy and the lackadaisical Andy, and confront a succession of ne'er-do-well friends and neighbors, a darker picture is painted of this normal family -- particularly Nicola, who is convinced she is fat and ugly (despite her emaciated appearance), with Natalie being a constant rebuke to her. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
- Starring:
- Alison Steadman, Jim Broadbent, (more)
- 1985
Shergar was made for British television in 1984. With so offbeat a title, one might suspect that the film was based on a true story, and one's suspicions would be confirmed. It seems that Shergar was the name of a famed British champion race horse, whose kidnapping made headlines for months. The film traces the nationwide search for Shergar and the ongoing media coverage. Stephen Rea, Niall Tobin and Dermot Crowley star in this production, which was first telecast in America over the A&E cable network. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Stephen Rea, Niall Toibin, (more)
A movie version of the stage play The Doctor and the Devils, written in the 1950s by Welsh poet/playwright Dylan Thomas, had been planned and shelved by several filmmakers before producer Mel Brooks and director Freddie Francis finally brought the project to fruition in 1985. Essentially, the story is the old one about grave robbers Burke and Hare and Scottish surgeon Dr. Robert Knox (which also yielded the 1945 Val Lewton classic The Body Snatcher). Timothy Dalton plays 18th century doctor Thomas Rock, who must rely upon the disreputable Robert Fallon (Jonathan Pryce) and Timothy Broom (Stephen Rea) to provide fresh cadavers for Dr. Rock's teaching hospital. When they can't dig up corpses fast enough to suit Dr. Rock, Fallon and Broom decide to streamline their methods via murder. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Timothy Dalton, Jonathan Pryce, (more)
The setting of Mike Leigh's Four Days in July is Belfast in the mid-'80s, just before the annual July 12th march of The Orangemen to celebrate the 17th century victory of the Protestant William of Orange over the Catholic King John II. Two couples prepare to have their first child. Collette (Brid Brennan) and Eugene (Desmond McAleer) are Catholic, while Lorraine (Paula Hamilton) and Billy (Charles Lawson) are Protestant. Eugene is injured and awaiting a disability check, so he has time to dote on his pregnant wife. Billy is in the military, and when he's not manning checkpoints, he hangs out with his fellow soldiers, Big Billy (Brian Hogg) and Little Billy (Adrian Gordon). On the 11th, as the celebrations and bonfires are being prepared, Brendan (Shane Connaughton, who later co-wrote the script for My Left Foot) comes by to fix Collette and Eugene's toilet. Then an old friend of Brendan's, Dixie (Stephen Rea), comes by to clean the building's windows. The four of them sit around for a while and chat. The upcoming marches are a sore spot that is briefly alluded to, and Eugene reveals that his injuries were suffered at the hands of the British military. Lorraine goes with Billy to a bonfire, where there's drinking, singing, and high spirits. The next morning, both women go into labor and are brought to the same hospital. In the waiting room, Eugene strikes up a conversation with Billy. Four Days in July was the last film Leigh made for the BBC and one of the first films scored by composer Rachel Portman. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi
- Starring:
- Brid Brennan, Desmond McAleer, (more)
Company of Wolves is Little Red Riding Hood for the Alien generation. Sheltered 13-year-old Sarah Patterson, living on the edge of a foreboding woods, is visited by her grandmother Angela Lansbury. The old lady delights in telling Sarah the most horrific stories, usually involving what happens to little girls if they trust wolves--the actual, rather than symbolic kind. Later on, Sarah sets out through the woods to visit her grandmother. She makes the acquaintance of a seductive young huntsman (Micha Bergese), who turns out to be.....well, what big teeth he's got. The ads for Company of Wolves, showing a wolf springing from the open mouth of poor little Sarah Patterson, were warning enough for the faint of heart. Actually, the horror is secondary to the remarkable Grimms-Fairy-Tale ambience which the film successfully sustains from beginning to end. And, in keeping with the original unexpurgated versions of most fairy tales, the sexual subtext is never far from the surface. Director Neil Jordan would further develop some of the subliminal themes in Company of Wolves in his 1994 production Interview with the Vampire. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Angela Lansbury, David Warner, (more)
- 1983
Two strangers with almost no common ground are stuck travelling across Europe together in this British comedy. Sally (Lindsay Duncan) is an ardent feminist from London who, with the help of two of her closest friends, builds her own car. Sally and her comrades are to attend a conference on women's rights in Germany, and they intend to drive the new vehicle there as a symbolic gesture. However, when the time for the symposium rolls around, her friends are unable to attend, and Sally doesn't care to drive that far on her own. Searching for a travelling companion, at the last minute she settles on Harry (Stephen Rea), whom she's told is a leftist gay man. However, Harry is not the person Sally thought he was; he turns out to be a bullheaded and thoroughly heterosexual football supporter who regards the women's movement as little more than a joke. Will these two make it all the way to Germany without killing each other? ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Stephen Rea, Lindsay Duncan, (more)
- 1982
- R
Writer/director Neil Jordan's debut feature is a tense thriller played out amid the violence in Northern Ireland. Stephen Rea stars as Danny, a saxophone player in a traveling band who witnesses the brutal murders of the manager of the band (who is involved in some extortion payoffs) and a deaf and dumb girl, who has seen the killing of the manager. After observing these cold-blooded executions, Danny becomes obsessed with hunting down the killers. His obsession develops into a murderous rage so intense that he ends up becoming as heartless a killer as the people he is trying to find. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
- Starring:
- Stephen Rea, Alan Devlin, (more)
- 1974
In this thriller, a two married detectives work together to nab the killer who stalks their client. The film is also titled "K Is for Killing." ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 1974
When attempts have been made on a rich British industrialist, a husband-and-wife detective team is called in to investigate. (AKA Color Him Dead) ~ Rovi
- 1970
- PG
The inimitable Vincent Price puts an interesting spin on this otherwise pedestrian witch-hunt exercise -- a rehashing of Witchfinder General (aka The Conqueror Worm) and several of Roger Corman's numerous Poe variations from the previous decade. Here Price plays Edward Whitman, a corrupt, sadistic magistrate in 16th-century Ireland who puts a quick and deadly stop to the activities of a local Druidic coven... but not before the sect's leader Oona (Elisabeth Bergner) puts a curse on him and the Whitman family line, calling up a vengeful spirit known as a "sidhee" which takes flesh in the form of an otherwise mild-mannered stable boy (Patrick Mower). As swift and violent retribution works its way through the Whitman family, so does this film snowball toward its bizarre and muddled conclusion -- made all the more confounding by rather choppy editing. Just like Conqueror Worm and half a dozen others, this was fallaciously marketed by distributor American International Pictures as yet another adaptation of the works of Edgar Allan Poe -- as if AIP hadn't kicked Poe's corpse around enough in the '60s. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi
- Starring:
- Vincent Price, Elisabeth Bergner, (more)
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