Juliet Stevenson Movies
Ranked among Great Britain's most esteemed stage actresses, Juliet Stevenson also occasionally lends her talent to film and television productions. In film, she received the most acclaim for Truly, Madly, Deeply (1991). A graduate of London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, she first made waves in classical theater in the early '80s. She also occasionally worked in more modern productions, such as Ariel Dorfman's Death and the Maiden, for which Stevenson originated the role of the vengeful Paulina. In 1987, Stevenson entered television in the British/American film Helix/The Race for the Double Helix (1987). She followed this up with several feature films, making her American debut co-starring with Gwyneth Paltrow in Emma (1996). ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide- 2008
A 13-year-old girl (played by The Golden Compass' Dakota Blue Richards) discovers that she is the only hope for banishing an ancient curse from a magical kingdom in director Gabor Csupo's adaptation of author Elizabeth Goudge's 1946 children's book The Little White Horse. Ioan Gruffudd, Tim Curry, and Juliet Stevenson co-star in a film penned by screenwriting partners Graham Alborough and Lucy Shuttleworth. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ioan Gruffudd, Tim Curry, (more)
- 2007
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Mark Elder, longtime music director of the English National Opera, hosts the documentary Giuseppe Verdi: The Pursuit of Success and the Burden of Success. The program - one of the first feature length English-language documentaries to explore Verdi's life and career - couples on-location footage of the milieux that Verdi frequented with reflections from the composer's memoirs and excerpts from Verdi's Italian-language operas. The extracts in question were culled from productions mounted for this film by David Alden and starring such luminaries as Willard White and Josephine Barstow; they feature musical accompaniment by the Chorus and Symphony of the English National Opera. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mark Elder, Bob Peck, (more)
- 2006
Filmmaker Phil Grabsky speaks with the most celebrated orchestras and musicians on the planet to explore the life of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in the first-ever feature-length documentary about the 18th century composer. Over eight works by Mozart are presented chronologically in order to draw distinct parallels between the composer's music and his remarkable life. Lovingly crafted and never weighed down by history, Grabsky's film is designed to be enjoyed by classical-music enthusiasts as well as the casual fan. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 2005
As three bomb-toting Muslim fundamentalists hold the citizens of a London restaurant hostage, the revelation that one of the terrorists has been researching a little-known Russian explosive known as "Red Mercury" promos authorities to handle the situation with extreme caution in director Roy Battersby's topical thriller. An informer has revealed that a trio of terrorists has been lying in hiding in the English capitol, and when chases breaks out the three bombers storm into a popular Greek restaurant and hold the frightened diners hostage. The perpetrators are Mushtaq (Alex Caan), Asif (Navin Chowdhry), and Shahid (San Shella). As the Gold Commander (Pete Postlethwaite) and counterterrorism expert Sofia Warburton (Juliet Stevenson) do their best to assess the situation from the outside, restaurant owner Penelope (Stockard Channing) and a pair of quick-thinking customers that includes American lawyer Sidney Lowe (Ron Silver) and author Neil Ashton (David Bradley) do their best to keep the heads cool on the inside. Later, when the authorities discover that the three terrorists are well-educated British citizens who were likely recruited by fundamentalists during their studies, Sofia finds that they have also come into possession with an extremely volatile Russian-produced explosive. With time quickly running as tempers begin to flare, the desperate counterterrorism expert contacts her ex-husband Lindsay (Nigel Terry) - a one-time mole whose inside information may prove vital in saving countless lives - in a last ditch attempt to resolve the situation peacefully. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Bradley, Stockard Channing, (more)
- 2002
Based on a novel by Jodi Picoult, the made-for-cable The Pact is the story of two neighboring families, the Golds and the Hartes. Best friends for decades, Melanie Gold (Megan Mulally) and Gus Harte (Juliet Stevenson) have managed to envelop their husbands and their children in this strong and seemingly unbreakable bond of friendship. All this changes in a devastatingly tragic fashion when Melanie's daughter Emily (Meghann Henderson) and Gus's son Christopher (Eric Lively), who have grown up together, enter high school. For reasons that are not fully explained at first, Emily and Gus enter into an apparent suicide pact; ultimately, shots are fired, Emily dies, and Chris is put on trial for murder. Capped by a genuinely surprising denoument, The Pact made its Lifetime Network debut on November 4, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2002
The formative years of celebrated Australian feminist Jill Ker-Conway are recounted in the two-hour TV biopic The Road From Coorain. Growing up in the Outback of New South Wales in the 1930s, Jill chafes under the domination of her mother, Eve (Juliet Stevenson), a prickly relationship that becomes even more so after the death of Jill's father. Though she grows wealthy from various investments, Eve becomes a bitter alcoholic, all but forcing Jill to go out into the world and stand on her own two feet. Drawn into the Australian intellectual renaissance of the 1940s, Jill finds her feminist values challenged when she falls in love with rough-hewn American mining engineer, Alec (Tim Guinee). First telecast in Australia on March 3, 2002, The Road From Coorain was seen in America as an episode of the PBS anthology Masterpiece Theatre on May 13, of that same year. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Juliet Stevenson
One of Charles Dickens' best-loved (and most complex) stories receives its fourth feature film adaptation in this lively historical comedy-drama. Nicholas Nickleby (Charlie Hunnam) is a 19-year-old who becomes the head of the family when his father dies unexpectedly. Keeping watch over his mother (Stella Gonet) and his sister Kate (Romola Garai) becomes an even greater challenge when Nicholas discovers that his father lost the family fortune due to ill-advised investments. Without a shilling to his name, Nicholas turns to his wealthy but unforgiving Uncle Ralph (Christopher Plummer) for help; Uncle Ralph offers to find work for all three, and Nicholas becomes a teacher at a school for unfortunate boys run by Wackford Squeers (Jim Broadbent) and his wife (Juliet Stevenson). Squeers and his wife are cruel and frequently violent toward their charges, and when Wackford, without cause, beats a weak and timid student, Smike (Jamie Bell), Nicholas decides he can take no more and runs away, with Smike in tow. The two young men fall in with a traveling theater troupe run by the genially eccentric Vincent Crummles (Nathan Lane) and his equally flamboyant spouse (Barry Humphries, aka Dame Edna Everage). In time Nicholas returns to London to check in on his sister and mother. To his horror, he learns that Uncle Ralph has promised Kate's hand to Sir Mulberry Hawk (Edward Fox), a wealthy older man with a less-than-wholesome interest in young women. Both Kate and Nicholas are upset at the prospect of this union, and Nicholas attempts to tear his family away from Uncle Ralph's control, beginning with a job working for the warm-hearted Charles Cheeryble (Timothy Spall) and his brother (Gerard Horan). Nicholas also falls in love with the fair Madeline (Anne Hathaway), but when Uncle Ralph learns of Nicholas' plot to foil Kate's impending marriage, he strikes back by kidnapping Smike and attempting to force Madeline to wed Sir Hawk. Actor, writer, and filmmaker Douglas McGrath adapted Nicholas Nickleby into a screenplay, as well as directing the picture. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jamie Bell, Jim Broadbent, (more)
Adapted from David Leavitt's book The Page Turner, Food of Love tells the story of a cross-generational romance between two men. Paul (Kevin Bishop), a sexually repressed teenager, is an aspiring pianist who gets an opportunity to work as a page turner for Richard Kennington (Paul Rhys), a renowned pianist who also happens to be Paul's idol. A flirtation ensues between the two men after a concert one night, but further possibilities are thwarted by the meddling of Paul's neurotic mother Pamela (Juliet Stevenson). When Paul and Richard meet again six months later in Barcelona, they begin where they left off, tumbling headlong into a passionate affair despite the continued intrusion of Pamela, who believes that Richard is flirting with her. The affair is further complicated by the presence of Mansourian (Allan Corduner), Richard's manager and lover, who is suspicious of the relationship between Richard and Paul. Unable to deal with the situation, Richard flees to New York, and when he and his young lover finally meet again, Paul is a Julliard student engaged in an affair with yet another middle-aged man. Food of Love was screened at the 2002 Philadelphia Gay and Lesbian International Film Festival. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Juliet Stevenson, Paul Rhys, (more)
Alan Rickman and Janeane Garofalo headline writer/director Mike Binder's comedy about an American businessman who is summoned to London under the auspice of overseeing an impending business merger, only to discover that he is actually being groomed to replace his British counterpart - who unfortunately has no intentions of giving up his job. Matthew Barnes (Binder) and his wife (Garofalo) thought they were going to London for a brief business trip, little did they realize Matthew's employer had something a bit more permanent in mind. It seems that the powers that be would like to see Matthew's British counterpart John Gissing (Rickman) fired, and would love for Matthew to step in as his official replacement. But John is no dummy, and he's seen this storm brewing on the horizon for quite some time. Now, instead of stepping down peacefully and allowing the situation to play out as his superiors have planned, John schemes to make the American couple's stay in London as unpleasant as humanly possible by sending them on a series of disastrous and humiliating misadventures. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mike Binder, Janeane Garofalo, (more)
This animated version of Charles Dickens classic story Christmas Carol adds some new touches, but primarily follows the traditional tale of the miserly and cruel Ebenezer Scrooge being confronted by a series of ghosts who show him the true meaning of Christmas. His experience leads to his redemption allowing him to act kindly toward his employee, Bob Cratchett, and Cratchett's ill son, Tiny Tim. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Simon Callow, Kate Winslet, (more)
- 1999
Originally telecast by the BBC in 1999, Trial by Fire served as the unofficial pilot film for the Helen West mystery series, based on the novels by Frances Fyfield. Moving from London to the supposed tranquility of the suburbs, prosecutor Helen West (Juliet Stevenson) and her police-chief boyfriend, Geoffrey Bailey (Jim Carter), don't find very much peace and quiet. In fact, things are almost as bad as in the big city, what with spousal abuse, kleptomania, and murder running amok. Much against her will, Helen is drawn into the intrigues of her new murder -- and by extension, so is Geoffrey, who totally disagrees with Helen's deductions. Trial by Fire aired in the U.S. as an episode of the PBS Mystery! anthology on February 24, 2000; in the subsequent Helen West series, the roles of Helen and Geoffrey were respectively played by Amanda Burton and Conor Mullen. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Juliet Stevenson, Jim Carter, (more)
- 1998
Produced for the PBS TV series Masterpiece Theatre, this adaptation of Laurie Lee's autobiographical novel follows a young man's maturation in the country town of Gloucestershire near the end of World War I. As young Laurie (Dashiell Reece) comes of age under the protective eye of his mother (Juliet Stevenson), he learns to live with an eccentric collection of friends, neighbors, and relatives. As he enters his teenage years, Laurie (now played by Joe Roberts) discovers women, specifically Rosie Burdock (Lia Barrow). Veteran screenwriter John Mortimer adapted Lee's book, with Lee narrating. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Juliet Stevenson
- 1997
Married to the extroverted Mary (Melanie Kilburn), shy engraver Redfern (Ken Stott) enjoys solitary activities -- fishing, carving, and wandering the Yorkshire countryside. He meets the troubled Jean (Juliet Stevenson), separated from her insensitive husband Frank (John Bowler), when he delivers a headstone after the death of Jean's mother. A friendship develops between these two lonely souls. Although their relationship is more platonic than passionate, it nevertheless provides fodder for the local village gossips. Shown at 1998 film festivals (Toronto, Palm Springs). ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Juliet Stevenson, Ken Stott, (more)
A hypocritical politician touting family values faces the wrath of his vengeful wife when it's revealed that he has been carrying on a torrid extramarital affair in British filmmaker Graham Theakston's award-winning PBS drama. Tory powerhouse and family-value proponent Duncan Matlock (Trevor Eve) is on the political fast track until the tabloids catch him in a compromising position with a young escort. As the media locks on to the sordid controversy and Duncan's loyal wife Flora's (Juliet Stevenson) cool façade begins to melt down, the revelation of telephone tapes disclosing the true extent of the affair leaves her reeling. Now determined to strike back at her philandering husband and seek revenge by any means necessary, Duncan's only ally is about to become his worst enemy. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Juliet Stevenson, Trevor Eve, (more)
The Left Bank of Paris is a notorious bohemian hot-spot where some of the world's greatest artists and intellectuals found a haven in which to freely express themselves. Though traditional chronicles have focused on the illustrious men who lived there, this British documentary looks at some of the women who lived there including Gertrude Stein and her lover Alice B. Toklas, publishers Sylvia Beach and Adrienne Monnier, painter Romaine Brooks, and Natalie Barney. Many of their stories are told with archival film clips coupled with modern interviews. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1993
Franz Kafka's classic tale of Josef K., a bank clerk who is placed on trial for an unnamed, unknowable crime, is given a faithful, if not overly literal, treatment in this drama. Knowing only that he has been charged, Josef naturally sets out to defend himself, but soon finds himself deeply mired in a battle against an incomprehensible government bureaucracy. Following Orson Welles's adaptation of the book by some three decades, director David Jones chooses to avoid the earlier film's expressionistic approach. Instead, he sets Josef's travails against a realistic background that specifically recalls Eastern Europe during the early 20th century, the time of the book's writing. Similarly, the screenplay by famed British playwright Harold Pinter, whose own darkly absurd vision owes much to Kafka, hews closely to the original text. This faithful approach helps ground the story in historical reality, and allows for a good use of brooding Prague locations. However, many critics have found this approach less effective than the low-budget abstraction of Welles' version, which is more successful at highlighting the universality and symbolic nature of the tale. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kyle MacLachlan, Anthony Hopkins, (more)
- 1990
March is set in what we hope is the distant future. Global warming has caused the more temperate regions of the earth to become uninhabitable. A group of several thousand Africans migrate across the dried-up oceans to Europe and England. This so-called promised land is overpopulated already, sparking severe racial and nationalistic tensions. Juliet Stevenson heads the cast of March, which was originally produced for British television, then aired in the U.S. over the A&E cable service. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1990
Donald Sumpter stars in this heavy-breathing British TV drama as Frank, a millionaire rock promoter. Saddled with a miserable domestic life, Frank enters into a torrid affair with the wife of a vicar. Jeremy Clyde, formerly of the rock group Chad and Jeremy, plays a key supporting role. Aimee was telecast by the BBC in 1991. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1986
This British made-for-television movie tells the story of the 1950s competition to unlock the mystery behind DNA, and the personal and political tribulations that accompanied the endeavor. Jeff Goldblum stars as American scientist Jim Watson, and Tim Pigott-Smith is Britain's Francis Crick. Together, the non-traditional scientists raced to find the structure of the DNA molecule before their contemporaries did the same. The film was based on the book of the same name by James Watson. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
Douglas McGrath's Infamous represents the second major biopic about the avant-garde belletrist Truman Capote to be released within a year. It thus tells roughly the same story as Bennett Miller's earlier Capote, recounting the events that belied the writer's six-year authorship of the seminal "nonfiction novel" In Cold Blood. The story opens with Capote (Toby Jones) visiting the site of the 1959 Clutter family homicide, on a Kansas research trip, accompanied by his close friend and colleague, author Harper Lee (Sandra Bullock). As Capote settles into the community, McGrath uses the preponderance of screen time to explore the emotional tapestry of Capote's increasingly risky emotional attachment to one of the two murderers, Perry Edward Smith (Daniel Craig), with whom he senses more than a few common bonds. McGrath weaves a decidedly bittersweet tale, contrasting the optimism and devil-may-care, "conquer all" attitude of Capote in his early years with a seemingly endless string of poor choices in the writer's later years, from addictions to drink and pills, to a failure to maintain healthy output as a writer, to poorly chosen romantic and sexual entanglements. Most significantly, however, McGrath reveals how the relationship with Smith virtually destroyed Capote as an artist and a human being, by inducing him to sell out on all levels to satisfy his lust for accomplishment and notoriety. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Toby Jones, Sandra Bullock, (more)
The life and career of the last in a long line of highly praised British executioners is explored in this drama directed by Adrian Shergold and starring Timothy Spall in the role of Albert Pierrepoint. As a youth, Pierrepoint was discouraged from pursuing the family career by a mother who claimed that the horrific line of work spurned his father to take up drink before eventually ushering him to an early grave. Despite his father's adverse reaction to the job's more gruesome details, Albert still thinks that he has what it takes to make it as an executioner and is soon rising to the upper echelon of hangmen thanks to his speed on the job and unwavering humanity. Eventually called before General Montgomery so that he may employ his skills in dispensing the Nuremberg criminals, Pierrepoint earns the respect and admiration of his fellow Britons just as his experiences in Germany stir his increasingly troubled conscience and abolitionists set into motion a heated campaign aimed at bringing the practice of hanging to an end. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Timothy Spall, Juliet Stevenson, (more)
A petty thief is the link between a well-to-do businessman and a single mother struggling to get by in his edgy, emotional drama. Will Francis (Jude Law) is a successful landscape architect who runs an upscale business with his friend Sandy (Martin Freeman) in the King's Cross section of London, a neighborhood that has long been plagued by crime and poverty but has lately become the target of a major gentrification program. Will's longtime girlfriend is Liv (Robin Wright Penn), a lovely woman troubled by a lack of communication between herself and her husband and emotional problems with their teenage daughter, Bea (Poppy Rogers), who can't sleep and is obsessed with gymnastics. A thief has broken into Will and Sandy's office not once but twice, taking Will's laptop and the company's computer equipment, and Will begins spending his evenings at the shop in hopes of catching the culprit in action. The burglar strikes a third time, and while giving chase, Will sees him make his way into a shabby apartment building. Will learns the criminal is Miro (Rafi Gavron), a 15-year-old refugee from Bosnia. Without revealing what he knows, Will makes the acquaintance of Amira (Juliette Binoche), Miro's widowed mother -- a Bosnian refugee who makes a living as a seamstress. As Will starts bringing Amira business on a regular basis, the two begin an affair which continues even as Will maintains his relationship with Liv. Breaking and Entering was written and directed by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Anthony Minghella; it was his first project made from his own original script since Truly, Madly, Deeply in 1991. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jude Law, Juliette Binoche, (more)
A woman scorned unleashes her fury in this droll comedy based on a story by W. Somerset Maugham. Julia Lambert (Annette Bening) is a famous and well-respected actress, but though her life in the limelight seems glamorous, things are not going well for her off-stage. Julia's husband is unfaithful to her (and not especially discreet about it), her son is angry with her, and she's afraid she's losing her looks and allure as she advances further into middle age. In the midst of this, Julia meets a handsome and dashing young American named {%Tom.. Tom makes no secret of his attraction to Julia, and the feeling is mutual, leading the two into a torrid affair. But, while Julia at first dives into this adulterous romance with little care for how it could affect her reputation, she becomes livid with rage when she learns that Tom is also involved with a younger actress, and is only using Julia to advance himself. Julia then plots an elaborate revenge against Tom in a scheme that will help her win back the pride and confidence life has recently stripped from her. Being Julia also stars Jeremy Irons, Michael Gambon, Bruce Greenwood, and Shaun Evans. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Annette Bening, Jeremy Irons, (more)
