David Hare Movies

Kate Winslet and Ralph Fiennes star in The Hours director Stephen Daldry's haunting period drama concerning the relationship between a 15-year-old German boy and a mysterious woman twice his age, and the way that it grows doubly complex when the man reencounters the woman years later and discovers a shocking truth about her past. Based on author Bernhard Schlink's best-selling novel of the same name, the film opens on the character of Michael Berg (Ralph Fiennes) in middle age -- cold, remote, and emotionally withdrawn. It then moves back in time to 1950s Berlin, where ailing teenager Michael (now played by David Kross) has fallen ill with fever, and is discovered in the street by Hanna, a woman in her thirties. After Michael recovers, the two immediately lapse into a torrid affair and Michael falls prey to the confusion of his own burgeoning sexuality. Their liaisons are often marked by Hanna's request that Michael read to her (hence the title). Later, when Michael returns to Hanna's flat and finds it deserted, her absence becomes an emotional blow for which he is completely unprepared, and indeed, scarred for life. The film then moves forward in time by eight years. Michael -- now a law student -- walks into a courtroom and comes across Hanna, one of a series of Nazi prison guards being tried for murderous war crimes during World War II. As he watches her on the witness stand, memories of their past experiences together bring him to the point of realization concerning a startling, long-buried truth about Hanna -- and Michael knows that if he divulges this information, it could modify the prison sentence handed out and dramatically alter her fate. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Noted playwright and screenwriter David Hare stars in this one man filmed stage play that was the toast of both London's West End and of Broadway. Using a spare set-up of four stationary cameras, the film shows Hare recounting his disconcerting visit to Israel. He compares it with his native Britain, which he describes as having lost something to believe in. By contrast, he evokes the vitality of Israel. He meditates on that country's clash between the secular and religious realms, "Jewish identity," and the history of Zionism. This film was screened at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

Adapted by David Hare from his own play (the last in Hare's "political trilogy"), this British TV movie stars John Thaw as politician George Jones. Going against the grain of his bosses during a tough political contest, Jones finds himself campaigning against his own party. Though the ending is ironic, it is hardly surprising -- especially since the story was based on the real-life defeat of the Labour Party in the 1992 election. The Absence of War aired over BBC2 in 1995; an earlier videotape of the original 1993 stage play, which also starred John Thaw, is available at Britain's National Film Archive. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Adapted from Josephine Hart's spare novel by British screenwriter David Hare and French director Louis Malle, this brooding erotic drama concerns the obsessive sexual relationship between an English politician and his son's lover. Stephen Flemming (Jeremy Irons), an up-and-coming member of Parliament, has a beautiful and loving wife, Ingrid (Miranda Richardson), and two children, including son Martyn (Rupert Graves), a successsful journalist. Sparks fly, however, when Stephen meets beautiful art-world denizen Anna Barton (Juliette Binoche), Martyn's new girlfriend. A measured, seemingly passionless man who believes that life can be controlled, Stephen suddenly finds himself unable to resist brief but intense liaisons with the mysterious, melancholy Anna. Eventually she explains the palpable air of sadness that hangs over her: When she was 15, her beloved older brother committed suicide because he could not possess her. "Remember," Anna warns Stephen, "Damaged people are dangerous. They know they can survive." Drawn to Anna and the passion she engenders in him, Stephen tries to justify his betrayal by telling himself Martyn isn't serious about Anna; he is stunned, then, when the two announce their engagement. On the advice of Anna's mother (Leslie Caron), who sees right through the charade, Stephen tries to break things off. But soon the affair resumes with full force, eventually destroying several lives. Although Damage's stark, frank sex scenes were trimmed to attain an R rating for theatrical release, the original, uncut version is available on video and DVD. Richardson received an Oscar nomination for her work. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

As she enters middle age, expatriate American M.D. Lillian Hempel (Blair Brown) ends a long-term relationship with her actor boyfriend and embarks on a tour of European churches. After a chance encounter with charming businessman Raymond Forbes (Bruno Ganz), Lillian finds herself tempted to abandon her usually meticulous approach to romance. Fear wells up, though, and she heads back to London, where her job as a National Health physician awaits. Returning to her flat, Lillian finds Amy (Bridget Fonda), her peripatetic younger sister, who is visiting London, partying hard, and dabbling in the fashion world. Amy seems to be everything Lillian isn't: impulsive, irresponsible, and devoid of vocation. Back at work, Lillian finds herself drawn into the plight of a young man with terminal cancer, her emotional investment leading her to consider taking a stand against the toll Thatcherism is taking on Britain's health care system. Into this already complicated life comes Raymond, who has tracked Lillian to London, determined to woo and even marry her. Against her better judgment, Lillian acquiesces a bit at a time -- until a fierce row with Amy sends her spinning even faster into Raymond's alluring orbit. When Raymond disappears as mysteriously as he arrived, however, Lillian must come to terms with the choices she has made. Strapless was filmed between seasons of The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd, Brown's cult-favorite TV series; fans of the show will notice that Molly Dodd is closer in temperament to Fonda's character in Strapless than to Brown's. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

In a novel and intriguing approach to storytelling, director David Hare has created an engaging mystery and human drama that ostensibly focuses on an innocent dinner party but is really about something else. Jean Travers (Vanessa Redgrave) is an old-maid schoolmarm who has lived in Wetherby, a small town in northeastern Yorkshire, all of her life. She is still haunted by memories of a passionate love affair with a young man who was later murdered while on military duty in Malaysia nearly 35 years ago in the '50s. One evening, Jean invites a group of friends over for dinner; the group is comprised of two couples, one of which spends the time sniping at each other. A young man, John Morgan (Tim McInnerny) is also in the dinner party. Jean thinks he was brought along by one of the couples; the couples, in turn, believe he was invited by Jean -- in short, he is a total stranger that everyone assumes is a friend of someone there. As the evening progresses, political topics of the moment are brought up and chewed over; Margaret Thatcher, Richard Nixon, and other notables of the era are discussed, and various comments are made on the laziness of today's youth. The dinner party ends, and the next day John Morgan comes back to visit Jean. While she is in the midst of preparing tea for them both, he takes out a gun and kills himself. The shock waves from his senseless act later reverberate among the dinner-party guests, as the police investigator tries to piece together the man's background and the dinner party itself. Questions are raised about his motives, and viewers see the dinner party again, moment by moment, in an entirely new light. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Saigon: Year of the Cat is a low-budget drama about the fall of Saigon. The film was made for the BBC in 1983. It was one of many television projects that director Stephen Frears (High Fidelity) worked on in the early part of his career. Playwright David Hare (Plenty) wrote the script. Judi Dench plays Barbara Dean, a depressed loan officer working for a British bank in Saigon in 1974. Barbara politely wards off the advances of her Scottish co-worker, Donald (Roger Rees), who does not share her respect for the Vietnamese people. She also avoids getting involved with Frank (Wallace Shawn), an American embassy employee with whom she plays bridge. When she meets Bob (Frederic Forrest), however, she's immediately attracted to him. She soon learns that while Bob poses as a cultural attaché, he actually works for the CIA. When Bob belatedly recognizes her attraction, he opens up to her, and they become lovers. Bob hears from a reliable intelligence source that the North Vietnamese are stepping up their aggression and plan to take Saigon soon. He tries to convince his boss, Jack Ockham (Josef Sommer), and the U.S. ambassador (E.G. Marshall) to prepare for the fall of the city by evacuating the South Vietnamese citizens who have worked most closely with the U.S. government. The ambassador does not want to appear to be abandoning President Thieu's regime. He refuses to credit Bob's report. Meanwhile, as the crisis looms, Barbara is growing despondent because Bob is not spending time with her, and because there's little she can do to help her South Vietnamese friends get out of the country. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide