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- 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
- 1988
- R
Peter Greenaway wrote and directed this typically surreal and iconoclastic black comedy. Three generations of women who share the same name -- 63-year-old Cissie Colpitts (Joan Plowright), her daughter Cissie Colpitts II (Juliet Stevenson), and granddaughter Cissie Colpitts III (Joely Richardson) -- have all discovered the same way of dealing with their marital problems. The senior Cissie has drowned her husband Jake (Bryan Pringle) in the bathtub, her daughter sent her spouse Hardy (Trevor Cooper) to a watery grave in the ocean, and the youngest Cissie sent her husband Bellamy (David Morrissey) down in a swimming pool. Needless to say, local coroner Henry Madgett (Barnard Hill) has some questions about this sudden rash of drownings among the Colpitts husbands, and again all three women respond in the same way: they promise to sleep with Henry in exchange for recording the deaths as accidental (though none of the Cissies make good on this promise). When the local gossip mill begins working overtime about this sudden rash of water-related deaths, Henry's teenage son Smut (Jason Edwards) comes to the aid of the Cissies and organizes a tug-of-war, with he and the Colpitts women on one side and the doubting townspeople on the other (and, of course, a river in the middle). Along the way, Greenaway often stops to contemplate his obsessions with literature, astronomy, and numbers. Drowning by Numbers was released in Europe in 1988, but didn't find its way to American screens until 1991, following the success of Greenaway's The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bernard Hill, Joan Plowright, (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
Pianist Nina (Juliet Stevenson) and cellist Jamie (Alan Rickman) played together and loved together. When they weren't making music with each other, they made love. It was an idyllic romantic and musical partnership, and when Jamie dies, Nina takes it very hard. The condolences of friends and relatives don't help much when everything in the apartment they shared reminds her of him. She's a real basket case, and can barely get on with her life. One day, while plunking dejectedly on the piano, Nina looks up to discover Jamie, in ghostly form, lively as ever and just as loving. With a few new wrinkles (such as parties which include Jamie's newfound ghost friends), they resume living their relationship almost as before. Nina's friends are puzzled at her change from suicidal despondency to giddy cheefulness, but Jamie has pledged Nina to secrecy about their renewed relationship. For that reason, she cannot find any good excuses for not responding to the romantic advances of a living man, Mark (Michael Maloney). Before long, she will have to choose between the two of them. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Juliet Stevenson, Alan Rickman, (more)
- 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)
David Hare adapted his play about the tensions simmering within a British family, which erupt with the death of their patriarch. ~ Nicole Gagne, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Juliet Stevenson, Joanne Whalley, (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
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)
- 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)
- 1997
- G
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Young Jim Hawkins and the pirate Long John Silver race to find the same treasure located on a mysterious map in this animated adaptation of the timeless classic by Robert Louis Stevenson. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dawn French, Juliet Stevenson, (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
- 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)
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)
An independent-minded young woman discovers the joys of football, much to her family's chagrin, in this upbeat British comedy drama. Jess Bhamra (Parminder Nagra) is an 18-year-old growing up in West London, where her family has taken every effort to stay in touch with its Indian heritage. Jess' father and mother (Anupam Kher and Shaheen Khan) are after their daughter to go to law school, learn to cook a traditional Indian dinner, and settle down with a nice Indian boy -- the latter of which is high on the agenda of her older sister Pinky (Archie Panjabi), who is soon to wed her longtime beau Teetu (Kulvinder Ghir). However, her family is unaware that Jess has a secret passion -- football (or soccer, as it's known in North America). While Jess' enthusiasm for football star David Beckham is obvious, given the fact his photos cover the walls of her room, her parents don't know that in her spare time she likes to play a friendly game in the park with some of the boys in the neighborhood. One day, while Jess and her pals kick the ball around, she meets Jules (Keira Knightley), who is quite impressed with Jess' skills. Jules plays with a local semi-pro women's football team, the Hounslow Harriers, and she thinks Jess has what it takes to make the team. Jess knows that her parents would never approve of their daughter playing football, so she doesn't tell them, and starts spinning an increasingly complex series of lies as she tries to keep up a double life as a student and a footballer. Jess soon discovers a number of her new friends have their own problems to overcome; Jules dreams of playing pro ball in America, but has to deal with her stubborn and disapproving mother (Juliet Stevenson), while Joe (Jonathan Rhys Meyers), Hounslow's Irish coach, still struggles with the disappointment of a career as a professional athlete which was dashed by a knee injury. Bend It Like Beckham was a significant box-office success in Great Britain and Europe, but didn't reach American theaters until nearly a year after it debuted in the U.K. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Parminder Nagra, Keira Knightley, (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)
Set in 1953, Mona Lisa Smile tells the story of Katherine Watson (Julia Roberts), a new young art history professor at Wellesley College, an all-female campus with a prestigious reputation for academic excellence. Unfortunately for free-minded Berkeley grad Watson, her East Coast teaching stint comes during a less-progressive time that finds most of her students -- among them Betty Warren (Kirsten Dunst), Joan Brandwyn (Julia Stiles), and Giselle Levy (Maggie Gyllenhaal) -- more interested in nabbing a good husband than achieving scholastic and intellectual growth. Watson challenges her students and the Wellesley faculty to think outside of the current mores of the community and redefine what it means to be a success; meanwhile, she tries to come to terms with her own heart's desires. Mona Lisa Smile co-stars Marcia Gay Harden, Juliet Stevenson, and, as Watson's conflicting love interests, Dominic West and John Slattery. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Julia Roberts, Kirsten Dunst, (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)
