Thomas Wheatley Movies

A wealthy, upper-class British widow marries a much younger Italian man with disastrous results in this turn-of-the-century costume drama based on the E.M. Forster novel. After marrying into a wealthy family and then losing her husband, middle-aged Lilia Herriton (Helen Mirren) suffers under the disapproving yoke of her haughty mother-in-law (Barbara Jefford). At the suggestion of family friend Caroline Abbott (Helena Bonham Carter), Lilia leaves her young daughter and in-laws for a holiday in Italy, where she falls in love with the penniless but handsome Gino Carella (Giovanni Guidelli). When she announces her plans to marry Gino, the family dispatches her brother-in-law, Philip (Rupert Graves), to prevent the union. But the alternately caddish and thoughtful Philip fails in his mission. Gino proves to be as charming to other women as he is to his wife, but he's genuinely bereaved when she dies in childbirth. Soon, Philip and his high-strung sister, Harriet (Judy Davis), arrive in Tuscany in an attempt to spirit away Lilia's son. But the principled Caroline turns up, determined to stop them, setting the stage for unexpected realizations and unforeseeable tragedy. Where Angels Fear to Tread reunites Bonham Carter and Graves, who co-starred in the previous E.M. Forster adaptation, A Room With a View. Each actor also starred in other Forster films: Bonham Carter in Howards End and Graves in Maurice. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi

The Living Daylights represents the first appearance by Timothy Dalton as "Bond...James Bond." Based loosely on an obscure Ian Fleming short story, the film finds Bond assigned to aid in the defection of KGB agent Jeroen Krabbe. 007 must prevent an unknown sniper from killing Krabbe before he can reach the West. The mysterious assailant turns out to be the luscious Maryam d'Abo, who, as it turns out, is not all that she seems. The plot wends its way through a scheme to trade several million dollars' worth of diamonds for weapons, which will be shipped off to mercenaries worldwide. The climax takes place high above the clouds in a cargo plane loaded with opium. Dalton would play Bond one more time in License to Kill (1989) before handing the franchise over to Pierce Brosnan, who was slated to star in Daylights but ended up being held back by a TV contract with Remington Steele. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Its title dripping with sarcasm, Honest, Decent and True strikes a few more-than-glancing blows at the advertising industry. The scene is a British brewery, where the conservative executive board bemoans a steady loss of revenue. Into this rarefied atmosphere bursts a team of yuppie ad copywriters, who have as little interest in truth as they have in tradition. The hidebound brewery execs are appalled at the near-obscene excesses of the company's new ad copy--but business suddenly begins to boom. Made for British television, Honest, Decent and True made its American bow on the Arts and Entertainment cable service. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi