Greta Scacchi Movies
The daughter of an English dancer and an Italian painter, Greta Scacchi was born in Milan, Italy, though she was primarily raised in London. Around the age of 15, Scacchi moved with her family to Australia, where she held a series of odd jobs; among the most unique were cowgirl and Italian interpreter. Two years later, Scacchi moved back to London in hopes of establishing an acting career for herself. Her first step was training at the prestigious Old Vic Theatre, to the displeasure of her father, who, by that point, had become estranged from the family. Before long, Scacchi began appearing in small stage productions and commercials, which were enough to snare the attention of filmmaker Dominik Graf, who cast her in the 1982 German thriller Das Zweite Gesicht. Scacchi learned to speak German strictly for the role.For nearly eight years, Scacchi performed almost exclusively for British stage and television productions, though, particularly after her 1984 portrayal of the title role in the TV-movie version of Camille, she was slowly building a fan following within the U.S. It was her role in a modernized Chekhov play, however, that would earn her attention from Hollywood. Her first American film was Presumed Innocent (1990), in which she portrayed the seductive attorney whose liaison with the married Harrison Ford precipitates her rather nasty murder. Two years later, Scacchi could be found at her seductive best opposite Tim Robbins in director Robert Altman's showbiz comedy The Player; she would star in a similarly themed film 11 years later (Henry Jaglom's Festival in Cannes).
Despite her success on the big screen, Scacchi continued her work on television rather than pursuing a full-time film career, partly because it provided more opportunities to perform in classic roles -- in addition to co-starring in productions of Macbeth and The Odyssey, the young actress won an Emmy for her performance alongside Ian McKellen and Alan Rickman in Rasputin (1996). Her film roles were generally met with praise; in Emma (1996), Scacchi was held in very high esteem by both critics and co-star Gwyneth Paltrow, though her most significant role came in the film The Red Violin (1998). The Canadian-Italian production was a surprise success, and Scacchi's portrayal of a novelist embroiled in an affair with a British composer (Jason Flemyng) certainly contributed to film's numerous Genie awards (a highly prestigious Canadian film honor) and its Golden Globe win for Best Foreign Film. In 1999, Scacchi appeared in a unique film that took place entirely inside a women's bathroom (the aptly titled Ladies Room), which also featured Lorraine Bracco and John Malkovich. Scacchi continued her international acting career in 2004, when she starred in both Baltic Storm and Sotto Falso Nome. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- 1987
- R
A married American actor (Peter Coyote) falls in love with his on-screen flame (Greta Scacchi) while filming an Italian biography of author Cesare Pavese. France's 1987 entry to the Cannes Film Festival, this was the first English-language film for director Diane Kurys. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Coyote, Greta Scacchi, (more)
In an era when at-sea disasters have grown increasingly rare thanks to "foolproof" naval technology, the September 28, 1994 wreck of the ferry boat M/S Estonia raised more than a few eyebrows. En route from Talinn to Stockholm, via the Baltic Sea, the craft capsized and 852 civilians never reached their destination. In recounting this tale cinematically, writer-director Reuben Leder (brother of Mimi "Deep Impact" Leder) adapted German reporter Jutta Rabe's conspiracy thriller about the event. The picture - like its source - suggests that classified weapons were being smuggled on board the vessel, and that Russia - after learning of this secret - deliberately torpedoed the craft. The picture recalls Costa-Gavras's Z, Alan Pakula's The Parallax View, and other conspiracy thrillers by unfurling most of its story after the fatalistic event; in the vein of those earlier films, it has a suspicious character (here Jurgen Prochnow, as accident survivor and Swedish attorney Erik Westermark) teaming up with investigative reporter Julia Reuter (Greta Scacchi) to determine the truth behind the inferred political cover-ups. Screen vet Donald Sutherland co-stars. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Greta Scacchi, Jürgen Prochnow, (more)
Kevin Spacey serves as both director and star for this biopic based on the life and career of legendary entertainer Bobby Darin, which moves back and forth between his childhood and adult selves to tell the tale of his remarkable life. Born Bobby Cassotto and raised in the Bronx, young Bobby (played as a child by William Ullrich) was raised by his mother, Polly (Brenda Blethyn), his brother-in-law, Charlie (Bob Hoskins), and his sister, Nina (Caroline Aaron). At the age of 15, Bobby contracted a severe case of rheumatic fever, which was expected to take his life; while it left him with a weak heart, Bobby beat the odds and survived. Buoyed by a love of music passed along by his mother, Bobby learned to play several instruments and began singing as he recovered. Displaying a confidence and drive which stopped just short of arrogance, he adopted the stage name Bobby Darin and set his sights on becoming a star. After a string of hits as a rock & roll singer, Darin (played as an adult by Kevin Spacey) takes another gamble, and with the help of manager Steve Blauner (John Goodman) he reinvents himself as a supper-club vocalist in the manner of Frank Sinatra. All the more remarkably, he succeeds, and his swinging version of "Mack the Knife" tops the charts. Now a major singing star, Darin decides to take up acting; on the set of his first movie, he woos his female co-star Sandra Dee (Kate Bosworth), and despite the stern objections of her mother (Greta Scacchi), Bobby and Sandra wed. But after a string of successful movies for Dee and hit records and an Oscar nomination for Darin, the shifting tastes of the 1960s throw their careers off-track. Bobby cautiously embraces the new sounds of the day, but his old fans don't want to hear him cover Bob Dylan or the Rolling Stones, while the younger audience isn't interested in his new sound, leaving Darin in a difficult place to make his way back to stardom. Kevin Spacey did his own singing for Beyond the Sea, recreating Bobby Darin's vocal style with uncanny accuracy. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kevin Spacey, Kate Bosworth, (more)
Evelyn Waugh's classic novel of love and the British class system has been given a polished screen adaptation in this film version from director Julian Jarrold. Charles Ryder (Matthew Goode) was raised in a middle-class household and though he's never known want and is fortunate enough to have been accepted into Oxford, the life of the upper class is foreign to him. While serving in the British Army during the waning days of World War II, Charles is assigned to a temporary base set up on the estate of the wealthy and aristocratic Flyte family, where he strikes up a friendship with twentysomething Lord Sebastian (Ben Whishaw). Sebastian enjoys the pleasures his privileged life has afforded him, but he also senses that something is missing, and he tries to drown his frequent episodes of depression in alcohol. Charles is captivated by the splendor of Sebastian's life, and he finds himself drawn into a web of decadent comfort, while also developing an infatuation with Sebastian's sister, Julia (Hayley Atwell), even as Charles senses his relationship with Sebastian is something deeper than simple friendship. The idyllic days at the Flyte estate come to an end with the arrival of Sebastian's mother, Lady Marchmain (Emma Thompson), a fierce Catholic who objects to her son's free and easy life and has become increasingly bitter since her husband, Lord Marchmain (Michael Gambon), has left her to live in Italy with the lovely Cara (Greta Scacchi). This was the first cinema adaptation of Waugh's Brideshead Revisited, though it was the basis of an acclaimed miniseries produced for British television in 1981. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hayley Atwell, Ben Whishaw, (more)
Sideways star Thomas Hayden Church appears alongside Academy Award-winner Robert Duvall in a dramatic mini-series shot in the classic western tradition. The year is 1897. As Print Ritter (Duvall) and his estranged nephew Tom Harte (Church) travel the slow road to reconciliation, they reluctantly find themselves forced to care for five abused and abandoned Chinese immigrants while simultaneously attempting to deliver a herd of horses across the plains. Soon confronted by a gang of malevolent kidnappers who intend to abduct the girls and use them for the own nefarious purposes, Print and Tom determine to keep their young charges out of harms way while ensuring that their valuable delivery reaches its intended destination. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Duvall, Thomas Haden Church, (more)
- 1985
- R
Based on a true story, this film tells the tale of Robert O'Hara Burke (Jack Thompson) and William John Wills (Nigel Havers), who in 1860 set forth to create the first accurate maps of the interior region of the Australian continent. To this end, Irish explorer Burke and British scientist Wills journeyed from the Southern coast of Carpenteria to the North. While they succeeded with the first part of their voyage, on the return trip they and their compatriots fell victim to intense heat and diminishing supplies of food; of the 19 men who began the expedition, only one survived to tell the tale. However, while fate was cruel to Burke and Wills, history was kind, and their story is still taught in every Australian classroom. Graeme Clifford's biopic was praised for its striking visuals and realistic portrayal of Burke and Wills' difficult journey. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Thompson, Nigel Havers, (more)
- 1984
Alexandre Dumas fis first dramatized his own novel La Dame aux Camelias in 1852. Before the century was out, the work had been transformed by Giuseppe Verdi into the opera La Traviata; before the next century was out, the Dumas book had been made into no fewer than 25 films. The 1984 TV-movie adaptation, titled Camille like most of the others (including the first film, way back in 1907), stars Greta Schacchi as Marguerite, the popular Parisian courtesan who is wooed by innocent young Armand (Colin Firth). She is willing to give up her libertine lifestyle for Armand, but is gently convinced by the boy's father (John Gielgud) that such a union would be impossible. She renounces Armand, but he returns to her side, just as she is dying of consumption. Blanche Hanalis' adaptation of the Dumas novel takes a franker approach to the subject matter than the more familiar 1937 filmization with that other Greta (Garbo), and also manages to insert a soupcon of feminism. Filmed in Paris, the 1984 Camille was originally offered as a Hallmark Hall of Fame special. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Greta Scacchi, Colin Firth, (more)
- 2000
- Add Christmas Glory From Westminster to QueueAdd Christmas Glory From Westminster to top of Queue
Home Vision Cinema presents Christmas Glory From Westminster. This program features poetry and music from celebrities from the worlds of film and opera. Readings include Greta Scacchi reciting William Blake's The Lamb and Joan Plowright reading Kipling's Eddie's Service, while the performances feature Charlotte Church singing Stephen Adams' "The Holy City" and Andrea Bocelli performing "Mille Cherubini in Coro." Released in 2000 and running one hour, Christmas Glory From Westminster also features Bryn Terfel and Trevor McDonald. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
In this Australian comedy, adapted by Louis Nowra from his own play and updated from a '70s to a '90s setting, a Sydney slacker gets the chance to stage an opera, but his cast is assembled from the ranks of the mentally ill. After a long stretch sponging off his law-student girlfriend Lucy (Rachel Griffiths), college dropout Lewis (Ben Mendelsohn) fakes his way into a job doing occupational therapy with a group of asylum inmates. Although his original assignment is to stage a variety show, manic-depressive patient Roy (Barry Otto) soon hijacks the project and convinces Lewis to helm an adaptation of his favorite opera, Mozart's Cosi Fan Tutti. Lewis' unlikely cast ranges from psycho firebug Doug (David Wenham) and scruffy loudmouth Sandra (Kerry Walker) to depressive, dirt-obsessed Ruth (Pamela Rabe) and self-effacing drug addict Julie (Toni Collette). Given the dearth of acting and singing experience among these players, Lewis opts to translate the piece from Italian to English and stage it as a play with only a few pieces of music. The show still proves to be more than its director bargained for -- despite the dubious assistance of his friend Nick (Aden Young), an actor/director who's currently staging his own over-the-top production of Diary of a Madman. Although Cosi reteams Muriel's Wedding co-stars Collette and Griffiths, their characters here never share a scene. The production also includes former Men at Work singer Colin Hay in a featured role, plus cameos from Greta Scacchi and Paul Mercurio (who appeared alongside Otto in Strictly Ballroom). ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ben Mendelsohn, Barry Otto, (more)
Ismail Merchant, best known as a producer for his work with director James Ivory (including Howards End and A Room With a View), takes possession of the director's chair in this drama. In 1954, seven years after India has gained independence from Great Britain, many Indians still feel like second-class citizens in their own country, as the nation's sovereignty has not immediately erased the perception that the British are superior to the Indian-born natives. Such a woman is Cotton Mary (Madhur Jaffrey), who works as a nurse for Lily Macintosh (Greta Scacchi), the wife of a BBC correspondent. Mary claims she's the daughter of a British regiment officer (although she has no firm evidence), and she sees herself as more British than Indian. While she takes offense at racist comments, she often states her belief that most of her people are unclean and dishonest, and her personal philosophy is informed by Christianity as much as the Hindu teachings with which she was raised. When Lily gives birth prematurely, Mary has to find a wet nurse for the child, and she uses this to win greater trust and confidence from Lily; in time, Mary persuades Lily to fire Abraham (Prayag Raaj), the household's loyal but proudly Indian cook, while she hides the fact that her sister Blossom (Neena Gupta) is nursing Lily's child. When not acting, Madhur Jaffrey is an acclaimed Indian chef and author, who has written a series of books on Indian cuisine; her daughter, Sakina Jaffrey, also appears in the film. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Madhur Jaffrey, Greta Scacchi, (more)
This Australian drama has been adapted from Chekov's Uncle Vanya. It is set in post WW I Australia at a time when the Aussies were getting ready to break away from England. After his father's death, Jack Dickens sacrificed his literary aspirations to run the family farm. He lives in the old farm house with his aged mother and his plain, soft-spoken niece Sally, who was abandoned by her father Alexander Voysey after her mother, Jack's sister, passed away. Sally suffers unrequited love for Max Askey, the local doctor. Jack sends monthly payments to his brother-law Alexander, an aspiring London literary critic. After secretly dishonoring himself in London, Alexander returns to Australia with his lovely and much younger wife, Deborah. Alexander is a wind-bag and it is plain that Deborah is unhappily married. Jack and the doctor are attracted by the comely woman and vie for her attention at the expense of long suffering and ignored Sally. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sam Neill, Greta Scacchi, (more)
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
- 1982
A young woman who works in a bookstore has been terrified by nightmares about having committed suicide in a past lifetime, combined with a sense of deja vu regarding a specific apartment building. When she meets a young man who works in an optical company, whether she knows it or not, she is that much closer to the truth about her visions. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Thomas Schuecke, Greta Scacchi, (more)
This fast-paced thriller examines the amorality of a nation's secret services and the responsibility of journalistic investigations in an era of nuclear tensions and bureaucratic deceit. The film examines an unspooling series of events occurring after a near crash of a nuclear bomber at an American Air Force base in the English countryside. When Dennis Markham (Ian Bannen), a well-respected member of Parliament, is reported by a London paper to have been seen leaving a woman's home, and the woman is found to also be familiar with a dignitary from East Germany, his loyalty to his country is questioned, and he is forced to resign. The author of the newspaper exposé, Nick Mullen (Gabriel Byrne), continues his investigation with his colleague Vernon Bayliss (Denholm Elliott). But when Vernon dies from a mysterious heart attack, Mullen suspects something deeper at work and finds evidence of a complex web of deceit concerning a secret Air Force base. With the help of Vernon's secretary, Nina Beckman (Greta Scacchi), Nick fights the dark forces in order to bring the truth to light. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gabriel Byrne, Greta Scacchi, (more)
- 1993
- R
Greta Scacchi plays a famous feminist activist, while Vincent D'Onofrio portrays a humble Scots fisherman in this film from director Andrew Birkin. Despite the obvious ideological chasm between them, the two fall in love. The couple spend the rest of the film running away from commitment, only to be reunited at every turn. Salt on Our Skin is also known under the title Desire. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Greta Scacchi, Vincent D'Onofrio, (more)
- 1983
Dr. Fischer (James Mason) is a cynical tycoon whose favorite past time is exposing human greed. Determined to prove that even the most righteous person can be bought, Fischer (Bates) plans a party with a strange and diabolical twist. The party favors contain one of two things--one million dollars cash, or a bomb designed to blow the "gift" recipient into tiny pieces. His guests go through a strange, emotional journey, ultimately deciding if they are willing to trade their dignity and risk their lives for the possibility of wealth. Directed by Michael Lindsey-Hogg, Dr. Fischer of Geneva also features Alan Bates and Greta Scacchi. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alan Bates, James Mason, (more)
Based on the novel by Jane Austen (who in the '90s seemed to be in the running alongside William Shakespeare and Stephen King for the honors of most adapted author in Hollywood), this period romantic comedy stars Gwyneth Paltrow as Emma Woodhouse, a young woman who imagines herself an authority on matters of the heart. With the best of intentions, Emma plays matchmaker for her friends, most notably her friend Harriet (Toni Collette), who Emma links up with the Reverend Elton (Alan Cumming), and her governess, (Greta Scacchi), who she introduces to her future husband, Mr. Weston (James Cosmo). However, Emma is not nearly as good at playing Cupid as she likes to imagine, and she spends so much time trying to solve everyone else's romantic problems that it takes her quite some time to realize that she's fallen in love with Mr. Knightly (Jeremy Northam). A television miniseries based on Austen's book appeared a year later, while a year prior to Emma, the story appeared in modernized form in the popular teen comedy Clueless. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeremy Northam, (more)
The romance, intrigue, and industry politics of the world's biggest film festival -- which is also the world's biggest film marketplace -- provides the backdrop for this typically understated comedy-drama from director Henry Jaglom. Alice Palmer (Greta Scacchi) is a well-known American actress who has written a screenplay that she'd like to direct, and she arrives a the Cannes Film Festival to look for investors. Alice has her eyes on veteran star Millie Marquand (Anouk Aimee) to play the lead, but while Millie loves the script, she's been offered a better-paying supporting role in an upcoming Tom Hanks project. Meanwhile, Millie's former husband Viktor Kovner (Maximilian Schell) is a director fallen on hard times who is trying to scare up financing for his own film. Producer Rick Yorkin (Ron Silver) wouldn't mind leaving Millie in the lurch if it meant landing Alice for his next project. Kaz (Zack Norman) is a less-than-scrupulous producer hoping to put some sort of package deal together. And Blue (Jenny Gabrielle) is a young woman whose shoestring budget independent film has become an unexpected smash hit. Shot in the midst of the 1999 Cannes Film Festival, Festival In Cannes features cameos from such stars as Jeff Goldblum, Holly Hunter, Faye Dunnaway, and William Shatner. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jenny Gabrielle, Greta Scacchi, (more)
A Cuban woman who escapes to America finds herself in political, financial, and romantic jeopardy in this taut drama. Cuban refugee Isabel (Greta Scacchi) flees her country and makes her way to Miami after her husband, Nestor (Jimmy Smits), a political activist, is sentenced to a long stay in a Cuban jail. In their dangerous voyage to the United States, Isabel and her daughter are rescued by Sam (Vincent D'Onofrio), a fisherman from Miami; Sam helped Isabel find her way in her new home, and a romance blossoms between the two. However, when Nestor is finally released from prison eight years later and escapes to Miami to be with his wife, he discovers that Isabel's affections are now divided between himself and Sam, while his daughter barely remembers or recognizes him. Danger faces all three sides of this romantic triangle; Sam is asked to use his boat to smuggle Cuban dissidents into Miami, Nestor falls in with a radical fringe group hoping to stage an armed invasion of Cuba, and Isabel, who has become involved with a numbers racket, is in deep trouble after several massive payments were made to someone who never placed a bet. Fires Within was also shown under the title Little Havana; it premiered in Miami, appropriately enough, in its short-lived theatrical release. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Greta Scacchi, Jimmy Smits, (more)
A woman is forced to prove her own sanity to save the life of her daughter in this taut thriller. Kyle Pratt (Jodie Foster) is a successful aircraft designer who has recently been dealing with the traumatic death of her husband. After traveling to Berlin on business with her six-year-old daughter, Julia (Marlene Lawston), Kyle falls asleep on their flight back to New York, only to discover that her daughter has gone missing. While not knowing where Julia has gone is troubling enough, even more disturbing is the insistence by sky marshal Gene Carson (Peter Sarsgaard) and Captain Rich (Sean Bean) that no records indicate that the child ever boarded the jet. As Kyle becomes increasingly desperate to find her daughter, she must prove to the men in charge that her daughter did in fact board the plane with her, and that this turn of events is not a product of her imagination. But if Julia has gone missing, who has taken her and why? Also starring Erika Christensen and Kate Beahan, Flightplan was the first English-language feature from German director Robert Schwentke. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jodie Foster, Peter Sarsgaard, (more)
- 1987
- PG13
The always innovative Taviani Brothers pay homage to another unique filmmaker, D. W. Griffith, in Good Morning, Babylon. Vincent Spano and Joaquim de Almeida star as Nicola and Andrea Bonnano, the latest in a long line of Tuscany-born cathedral builders. Emigrating to America, the brothers settle in Los Angeles in 1915, even as director Griffith (Charles Dance) is preparing his epic production Intolerance. The boys are hired to help construct the massive sets for the film's Babylonian sequence (hence the title), for no other reason than the fact that Griffith is impressed by Italian craftsmanship. As the film progresses, Nicola and Andrea assimilate to their new surroundings, even launching a romance with a pair of pretty movie extras. On the verge of continuing the family tradition, the boys' ambitions are cut short by events well beyond their control. Still, their past artistic accomplishments, like those of their forebears, survive the ages -- but only on the ethereal silver screen. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vincent Spano, Joaquim de Almeida, (more)
Two women, related but separated by one generation and 60 years, have parallel experiences in the evocative mystical environment of India in this period drama from producer Ismail Merchant and director James Ivory. Although a little slow-paced for some, and slightly confusing because the stories of the two women are intercut, the scenery and script evoke a time and place that mesmerize. Based on the 1975 novel by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, a long-time collaborator in Merchant-Ivory Productions, the story begins with Ann (Julie Christie) who discovers some letters written by her grandfather's first wife Olivia (Greta Scacchi) that open up a whole new world as Ann travels to India to continue researching her grandmother's past. The letters reveal that when she was young, the free-spirited grandmother fell in love with an Indian nobleman (Shashi Kapoor) and left her husband -- an administrator in the British colonial government -- for her lover. After Ann arrives in India, her life and the modern rush of cars and people are played off against flashbacks to Olivia's life in a colonial setting. When the environment of each woman is compared and the nature of their momentous decisions placed side-by-side, their rites of passage and the society that dominated their choices stand out in high relief. Ruth Prawer Jhabvala won "Best Adapted Screenplay" at the 1983 British Academy Awards for her script of Heat And Dust. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Julie Christie, Christopher Cazenove, (more)
- 2007
Acclaimed actress Isabelle Huppert stars in this downbeat tale of a suicidal mental patient trapped in an endless maze of despair following the death of her only child. Initially raised in an acrid household, later locked into a dicey marriage, and ultimately saddled with a daughter she never wanted, Danielle attempts to take her own life multiple times before doctors are left with no other choice than to lock her away for the sake of her own safety. Not even sympathetic psychiatrist Dr. Neilson (Greta Scacchi) seems able to break through to the stoic patient whose hollow gaze that hints that any hope for salvation has long been lost. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Isabelle Huppert, Greta Scacchi, (more)
Best known for their historical epics that examine class and social issues in British life through a thick lens of tasteful production design and good manners, director James Ivory and producer Ismail Merchant set their sights on an American protagonist for a change with Jefferson in Paris. As the title suggests, Jefferson in Paris deals with the five years that Thomas Jefferson (Nick Nolte) spent as U.S. ambassador to France prior to the French Revolution; while Jefferson is sympathetic to the revolutionary forces in France, he's become well enough acquainted with the ruling aristocracy that he finds himself torn between the two sides of the issue. Jefferson, a recent widower, also becomes friends with Maria Cosway (Greta Scacchi), who is married to a foppish British artist; while it's obvious the two are in love, neither is in a position to do anything about their infatuation. And while Jefferson's daughter Patsy (Gwyneth Paltrow) loves her father, she's very upset with him when he sends her to a convent school. In this midst of this personal turmoil, Jefferson's younger daughter Polly (Estelle Eonnet) arrives in Paris, with her slave Sally Hemmings (Thandie Newton) in tow. Attractive and bright (if uneducated), Sally catches Jefferson's eye, and a friendship develops that grows into something deeper; in time, Sally becomes pregnant, and her family claims that Jefferson is the father. At the time Jefferson In Paris was released, the question of Sally Hemmings' relationship with Thomas Jefferson was a matter of lively historical debate; since then, genetic evidence has shown that, while Jefferson's paternity can't be proved beyond a doubt, it is likely that he did father children with Hemmings. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nick Nolte, Greta Scacchi, (more)
- 2007
Screen legend Isabelle Huppert (La Dentellière, Les Soeurs Brontë) headlines acclaimed director Alessandro Capone's gently-spun yet intransigent psychodrama L'Amour caché (2007). Huppert plays Danielle, a middle-aged woman rebounding from the trauma of an unsuccessful suicide attempt, and wrestling resolutely with the inner demons that propelled her into that tragic emotional state. Greta Scacchi (White Mischief) co-stars as Dr. Nielsen, the psychiatrist assigned to guide Danielle through therapy and recovery. Though the patient initially presents herself as unwilling to vocalize, in time she picks up a pen and attempts to write, letting the words flow out of her, cathartically, onto paper. It becomes apparent to both doctor and subject that the source of Danielle's trauma lies in her dysfunctional, estranged relationship with her daughter, Sophie (Mélanie Laurent) - now a contented, healthy wife and mother with a husband and a small child of her own - and that Danielle herself caused the schism by allowing irrational feelings of jealousy and inadequacy to separate her from Sophie. Danielle soon realizes that if she is to make any progress on emotional and psychological levels, she and Sophie must work through the immense obstacle of anger that divides them. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Isabelle Huppert, Greta Scacchi, (more)
