Paddy Higson Movies

One of the Catholic Church's most infamous institutions is the focus of this controversial independent feature from Scottish actor and erstwhile director Peter Mullan. Set in 1964, The Magdalene Sisters hones in on the Magdalene convent, a place where purportedly wayward young women have been sent by their families for reform. Many of the girls are locked up in the institution for questionable "sins," and the movie presents several of them as case studies: Margaret (Anne-Marie Duff), who is sent away after being sexually assaulted by a cousin at a wedding; Rose (Dorothy Duffy) and Crispina (Eileen Walsh), who are both unwed mothers; and Bernadette (Nora-Jane Noone), whose licentiousness has raised the ire of her former orphanage. It soon becomes clear that the reformatory is more of a manual-labor prison, however, as their girls are forced to work long hours and endure endless physical humiliation and abuse at the hands of the head nun, Sister Bridget (Geraldine McEwan). As their degradation at the hands of the convent's administrators increases, each girl plots her escape, but each finds that she's never far enough from the sisters' all-encompassing reach. The Magdalene Sisters premiered at the Venice Film Festival, where it was awarded the festival's top prize, the Golden Lion; the Vatican officially condemned the film after its premiere. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide

Based on a true story, this drama follows the exploits (both real and imagined) of the murderer Larry Winters (Iain Glen), who achieved fame as a writer and poet while he was in prison for his crimes. He is best known for his elegaic stories about boyhood life in the Scottish Highlands. Flashback memories of actual events are mixed with fantasy scenes, as this outwardly tough prisoner attempts to cope with his confinement. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Alan (John Gordon-Sinclair), a young British photographer, would like to break off his relationship with live-in girlfriend Mary (Irina Brook). Even as this little domestic drama is played out, Alan's assistant, Ken (David McKay), would like to launch a relationship with the young woman. Trouble is, he has no idea who or where the girl is -- he knows her only by her photograph. The various amorous intrigues are eventually resolved, but the results are surprising for both the characters onscreen and the viewers in the audience. Otherwise, the plot revels in its own predictability. Leading lady Irina Brook is the daughter of famed British theatrical director Peter Brook. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Writer/director Bill Forsyth's follow-up to his best film, Local Hero, is another comic exploration of a man undergoing a personal crisis. In Local Hero, the American played by Peter Riegert finds himself enchanted by the people and ambience of a Scottish village he has been dispatched to purchase for an oil company. In Comfort and Joy, Alan (Bill Paterson) is a Glasgow radio disc jockey whose air name is the chirpy Dickey Bird. After Maddy, his girlfriend (Eleanor David), walks out on him at Christmas, he's spurred to re-evaluate his life. Looking for more meaningful work than spinning pop tunes and offering inane chatter to his geriatric listeners, Alan decides to make a radio documentary. He chances upon a local rivalry between two ice cream companies, who are sabotaging each other's trucks in an effort to monopolize the market. Attracted to Charlotte (C.P. Grogan), the daughter of one of the company owners, Alan finds himself playing peacemaker rather than documentarian. That this cold war takes place in the dead of a bitter Scottish winter is only one of Forsyth's many sly touches. ~ Tom Wiener, All Movie Guide