Susan Wooldridge Movies

Stephen Frears directed this comedy drama about an ugly duckling who's followed by a handful of suitors after maturing into a sexy swan. Tamara Drewe (Gemma Arterton) was born and raised in Ewedown, a quiet community on the outskirts of London dominated by a writer's colony run by Nicholas Hardiment (Roger Allam), a best-selling novelist who specializes in crime fiction, and his wife Beth (Tamsin Greig). When Tamara left Ewedown, she was a plain and awkward teenager, but when she returns home for the first time in years, the locals are surprised to discover that time (and a nose job) have turned her into an attractive and alluring woman, and she's gained a share of money and fame thanks to a successful newspaper column. Tamara has returned to Ewedown after the death of her mother in order to refurbish the family home and put it on the market. Before long, Tamara finds herself pursued by three men from her past -- Andy Cobb (Luke Evans), her former boyfriend who has been hired to help fix up the house; Ben Sergeant (Dominic Cooper), the swaggering drummer with a local indie rock band flirting with larger success; and Nicholas (Roger Allam), who is chronically unfaithful to his wife and sees an opportunity with the neighborhood girl who was infatuated with him in her teens. Tamara Drewe was adapted from the graphic novel of the same name by Posy Simmonds, which was in turn inspired by Thomas Hardy's novel Far From the Madding Crowd. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Laurence Fishburne and Ellen Barkin star in this complex tale of former C.I.A. agents who now specialize in freelance espionage. As the film opens, Nelson Crowe (Fishburne) is being interviewed for a position with the Grimes Organization, which focuses on industrial espionage. He is hired by Margaret Wells (Barkin), who then takes Crowe to her boss, Grimes (Frank Langella). Grimes and Wells visit a man named Walter Curl (Spalding Gray) to tell him that they can bribe a state judge so that Curl's company doesn't have to pay a $25 million fine for the toxic poisoning of some children. The judge himself (David Ogden Stiers) is deep in gambling debts. Meanwhile, Wells aligns herself with Crowe and tries to convince him that the two of them could do away with Grimes and take over his entire organization. The plot thickens from there, with several surprises. The first-time original screenplay is by famous crime writer Ross Thomas, ~ Don Kaye, Rovi

A young boy comes to fear that his blind mother may become the next victim of a serial killer in this complex psychological thriller. Unfolding at first as a traditional suspense tale, the film follows the terrified boy's attempts to determine the killer's identity, a task his policeman father has failed to achieve. Things take a more provocative and puzzling turn when the boy's penchant for fantasy is revealed, forcing the audience to question whether what has been shown has been real or merely a product of the boy's imagination. As a result, much of the anxiety in Afraid of the Dark emerges not from the violent shocks, but from the uncertain reality and the tantalizing, disturbing hints of the child's psychology. This purposeful ambiguity may strike some viewers as confusing and alienating, despite the film's assured performances and striking imagery. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi

Crossing to Freedom is a 1990 TV-movie remake of the 1942 film The Pied Piper; both productions were based on a novel by Nevil Shute. Peter O'Toole steps into the old Monty Woolley role of the crotchety, isolationist Britisher who finds himself the unwilling guardian of several French war- refugee children. O'Toole leads his flock out of occupied France, making good his escape by striking up an unusual bargain with a Nazi officer. The predominantly British cast members choose to play their roles without French or German accents; not so American leading lady Mare Winningham, whose musical-comedy dialect is straight out of Fifi D'Orsay. Unlike the original Hollywood-bound Pied Piper, Crossing to Freedom was filmed on location in France. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

After years of capitalizing on the weaknesses of a gullible public, a London advertising executive finds that his worst qualities have literally taken on a life of their own in this scathing satire. Successful copywriter Dennis Bagley (Richard E. Grant) lives a posh life with his lovely wife, Julia (Rachel Ward), in the London suburbs. Pushed to distraction by a bothersome new pimple-ointment account, he flirts with renouncing his career and becoming socially aware. Immediately thereafter, Bagley discovers that he's developed a zit of his own -- a monstrous boil on his neck that begins whispering evil things in his ear. Convinced that he's being taken over by his dark half, Bagley soon finds his "good" self relegated to the boil while his malevolent alter ego returns to the world of advertising with a vengeance. At first, Julia is relieved that her husband seems to have bounced back from the abyss of mental illness, but soon she realizes that she prefers the gentle but crazy Dennis to the poisonous professional. Written and directed by Withnail & I's Bruce Robinson, How to Get Ahead in Advertising reunites the director with that film's leading man Richard E. Grant. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi

This drama is an engrossing exploration of the complexity of noble human traits, like loyalty and love, in conflict with a powerful argument for justice. Dr. David Sutton (Kenneth Welsh) and his wife Lily (Susan Wooldridge) have an argument that, unknown to them, is witnessed by their teenage son. The upshot is that they must move to a remote town in Alberta, Canada where no one knows them. David seems aloof towards his upper-crust wife; at first, it is not clear why, but little by little it becomes apparent he is sexually attracted to pre-pubescent girls. Enter a new housekeeper with a young adolescent daughter, and the tensions in the household become more volatile as they head toward an explosion. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

An asylum director begins telling a visitor to a cricket game the story of one of his "better" patients, Crossley (Alan Bates) who is able to compete. Some time previously, Crossley accosted Anthony (John Hurt), a composer, just after church and was for some reason invited to dinner. Once at the composer's home, he tells the story of his unusual upbringing among Australian Aborigines, and of the awful and strange gifts this has left him with. Among them is the ability to bring about another's death by using a certain kind of shout. The next morning, he begins to weave an erotic spell on the composer's wife Rachel (Susannah York), and then proves his killing ability on a sheep in a field. His influence increasingly disrupts their peaceful lives, until in a confrontation, the composer finds a way to best Crossley - but which results in his being placed in a mental institution. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi