Saira Todd Movies
A Newcastle dockworker haunted by a childhood betrayal and a troublesome past must fight to prevent history from repeating itself in this one-hour drama from BBC Daytime. Michael is a hard man living in a hard world, and somewhere deep in the core of his rough exterior he harbors a shocking secret. When violence erupts in Michael and his wife Stephanie's once happy home, the father sets the open road with his young son Jamie in search of clarity as the devastated mother attempts to reconnect with her parents without sacrificing her career. Later, Michael and Jamie end up back at the home of Michael's widowed mother, where a pivotal episode from Michael's childhood resurfaces to reveal just how he became the man he is today. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robson Green, Saira Todd, (more)
Based on a pair of memoirs by her husband John Bayley, this biographical portrait of writer Iris Murdoch stars both Judi Dench and Kate Winslet as the philosophical author at different stages of her life. When the young Iris (Winslet) meets fellow student Bayley (Hugh Bonneville) at Oxford, he's a naïve virgin easily flummoxed by her libertine spirit, arch personality, and obvious artistic talent. Decades later, little has changed as the couple (now played by Dench and Jim Broadbent) keeps house, with John doting on his more famous wife. When Iris begins experiencing forgetfulness and dementia, however, the ever-doltish but devoted John struggles with hopelessness and frustration to become her caretaker, as his wife's mind deteriorates from the ravages of Alzheimer's disease. Iris earned a slew of Supporting Actor awards for Broadbent, including recognition from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, Los Angeles Film Critics Association, and National Board of Review. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Judi Dench, Kate Winslet, (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)
- 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, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stephen Rea, Sinéad Cusack, (more)
- 1991
The BBC1 miniseries Fatal Inversion was based on a novel by Ruth Rendell, writing under her familiar nom de plume of Barbara Vine. Upon moving back to his ancestral home in the country, Adam Verne-Smith (Douglas Hodge) was forced to come face to face with his past when the bodies of a woman and her child are found nearby. Twelve years earlier, five young college students were involved, innocently or otherwise, in the murders, and two of those students were Adam and his best friend, Rufus Fletcher (Jeremy Northam). Viewers were kept in suspense as to the outcome of the story until the very last minutes of the series' final hour-long episode. Fatal Inversion originally aired in three parts in 1992. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
