Mother's Day

A mischievous girl accuses her older sister's lover of a crime he did not commit, only to find that her words have irrevocably and permanently changed the lives of all involved in a film that re-teams the filmmakers behind Pride & Prejudice to adapt the best-selling 2002 novel by author Ian McEwan. The year is 1935, and as the summer heat takes hold, 13-year-old fledgling writer Briony Tallis watches her older sister, Cecilia (Keira Knightley), get undressed and go frolicking in the garden fountain on her family's country estate. The housekeeper's son, Robbie (James McAvoy), a childhood friend and recent Cambridge graduate, also witnesses the innocent act. When Robbie and Cecilia subsequently cross a particularly sensitive boundary and the scheming Briony accuses Robbie of an unspeakable transgression for which the boy is wholly innocent, the repercussions of her unfounded claim threaten to affect all three for decades to come. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Margot at the Wedding, writer/director Noah Baumbach's follow-up to his Oscar-nominated The Squid and the Whale, stars Nicole Kidman as Margot, a woman who travels with her son to the wedding of her sister (Jennifer Jason Leigh). The relationship between the two siblings has never been harmonious, a situation that is exacerbated when Margot discovers she cares very little for her sister's fiancé (Jack Black). Soon the high-strung Margot escalates a feud between her sister and the neighbors, and family secrets come to light, forcing everyone to rethink their various feelings toward each other. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

Events from the life of the author Jane Austen inspired this romantic historical drama, which speculates of a romance that may have had a significant impact on her life and work. Twenty-year-old Jane Austen (Anne Hathaway) is the daughter of Rev. Austen (James Cromwell), a minister who looks after a flock in a small rural community in Southern England with his wife (Julie Walters). While her older sister, Cassandra (Anna Maxwell Martin), is engaged to be married, Jane resists her family's efforts to match her up with Mr. Wisley (Laurence Fox), the wealthy but dull nephew of Lady Gresham (Maggie Smith), a minor member of the British nobility. Jane has the heart of an artist, and hopes to distinguish herself as a musician or a writer, though her parents don't think much of her prospects. When Jane meets Tom Lefroy (James McAvoy), a young man her own age, she's intrigued; while he scoffs at her writing style, he clearly sees she has talent, and is eager for her to learn more of the larger world by exposing her to more daring literature and modern pastimes such as boxing. As Tom begins to court Jane, she finds herself increasingly attracted to this poor but keenly intelligent man, though she soon realizes her own ideas about love and marriage are sometimes at odds with the conventions of the society in which she lives. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Actress Cate Blanchett returns to her Oscar-nominated role and director Shekhar Kapur steps back into the director's chair for this belated sequel to the critically acclaimed 1998 biopic Elizabeth that explores the 16th century romance between the "Virgin Queen" and noted adventurer Sir Walter Raleigh (Clive Owen). Michael Hirst teams with William Nicholson to pen the screenplay, and actor Geoffrey Rush returns to the role of Sir Francis Walsingham. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Writer/director Olivier Dahan (Crimson Rivers II) helmed La Vie en Rose, the screen biopic of tragic French songstress Edith Piaf. Marion Cotillard portrays Piaf, the superstar once raised as a young girl by her grandmother in a Normandy bordello, then discovered on a French street corner -- as a complete unknown -- by cabaret proprietor Louis Leplée (Gérard Depardieu). The film segues breezily between various episodes from Piaf's life -- such as her lover, French boxer Marcel Cerdan's (Jean-Pierre Martins) championship bout in mid-'40s New York; her period in Hollywood during the '50s; Piaf's abandonment as a young girl by her contortionist father (and earlier by her mother, a street singer); her brushes with the law as an adult; and her 1951 car accident and subsequent morphine addiction that caused her to age well beyond her years and left her barely mobile; and, through it all, her ability (like Billie Holiday) to funnel personal tragedy and emotional struggles into her vocalizations -- dazzling audiences in the process. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

"Provoked" is the true story of a battered wife who fought back, first against her husband and then against the system. Full of optimism and affection, newlywed Kiranjit Ahluwalia (Aishwarya Rai) arrives at the doorstep of her new home and life with husband Deepak (Naveen Andrews). She would continue her law studies as her family had promised and the couple would start a family. The future offered only pain.The drunken Deepak beats her for the first time and shows remorse. He beats her again. It gets easier. After 10 years of violence, a dazed Kiranjit can take no more. She resorts to a desperate act that kills Deepak. She is convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. Incarceration tests the outwardly meek Kiranjit’s toughness at every turn, but the mother of two has suffered worse at home. She develops an ally in the mischievous Ronnie (Miranda Richardson), who also doled out the ultimate retribution to her abusive spouse. While Kiranjit acclimates to life behind bars, Radha (Nandita Das), an activist with the Southall Black Sisters, glimpses a tabloid headline about her case and springs into action. A barrister (Rebecca Pidgeon) with limited resources cannot make any headway, igniting greater determination in Radha, who rallies public opinion. Ronnie is denied parole but she has a secret weapon on the outside to help Kiranjit: Ronnie’s estranged brother-in-law Lord Foster (Robbie Coltrane), an influential legal eagle. Kiranjit’s appeal gains momentum when Radha persuades a cop to change his knowingly false testimony that Kiranjit was in her right mind the night of the killing.Arguing passionately before the high court, Lord Foster moves the judge to change the fate of many battered women forever. The court rules that a prolonged period of beatings could cause the victim’s loss of reason in a delayed act of self-defense. The concept of “provocation” is redefined and is now a primary defense for the severely abused if a claim of self-defense is not valid. The judge reduces Kiranjit’s crime to manslaughter and orders her released for the 3 years and 4 months she already served. Claiming she felt liberated in prison, Kiranjit is free again. This time, without walls.

Director Paul Mayeda Berges adapts author Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni magic realist tale about an enchanting Indian orphan who has leaned to harness the magical properties of spices. Orphaned by regional strife in her homeland of India, Tilo (Aishwarya Rai) is subsequently kidnapped by a vicious gang of bandits. A daring escape is quick to follow, and soon after washing up on mysterious shores the traumatized girl is sheltered by a benevolent old woman (Zohra Segal) who reveals to her the remarkable powers of common spices. Later, after moving to Oakland, California and opening her own spice shop, Tilo is compelled to follow three strict stipulations is she is to retain her ability to harness these magnificent powers: she must never use the powers for her own gain, she can never venture outside of her store, and she must never make contact with the skin of another person. When a handsome architect (Dylan McDermott) crashes his motorcycle just outside of the shop and the kindly proprietor rushes to his aid, the instant chemistry between the pair soon finds Tilo's resolve put to the ultimate test. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Diane Keaton stars as a unconditionally loving, but meddling, mother whose vain attempt to prevent her insecure youngest daughter from repeating the same mistakes that she made leads to a series of comic misunderstandings in director Michael Lehmann's affectionate family comedy. When it comes to the topic of motherhood, Daphne Wilder (Keaton) has seen it all. Her eldest daughter, Maggie (Lauren Graham), is a highly respected psychologist and her middle daughter, Mae (Piper Perabo), is both sexy and smart, but youngest Milly (Mandy Moore) just can't seem to get things right no matter how hard she tries. Recognizing that the romantic exploits of her charming-but-struggling youngest always seem to end in tears, concerned mother Daphne vows to find Millie the perfect man. Though she always means well, Daphne's misguided attempt to set her daughter up by placing a carefully worded personal ad proves once and for all that even the most well-intending of mothers can sometimes overstep their boundaries. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Gladiator duo Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe re-team for this adaptation of author Peter Mayle's best-selling novel about a London-based investment banker who relocates to Provence in hopes of selling a small vineyard he has inherited from his recently deceased uncle. As a child, Max Skinner (Freddie Highmore) was taught to appreciate the finer things in life while wandering the vineyard estate of his sophisticated uncle Henry (Albert Finney). Life has a strange way or turning out how you least expect it to though, and 25 years later, Max (Russell Crowe) is now a prosperous moneyman wheeling and dealing in the cutthroat world of London business. When Max learns that Henry has recently passed away and that he has been named the sole beneficiary of his late uncle's modest estate, the keen businessman hastily arranges a flight to France in order to assess the value of the old property and get it prepped for sale. After Max arrives to find the vineyard in a crumbling state of disrepair, his troubles are further compounded by the stubbornness of gruff estate winemaker M. Duflot (Didier Bourdon) and the unexpected arrival of a determined California beauty named Christie (Abbie Cornish), who presents herself as a long-lost cousin while making a dubious claim to Henry's estate. Meanwhile, the overstressed Max reluctantly finds himself falling for local café owner and town siren Fanny (Marion Cotillard), whose formidable guard is quickly worn down by the smitten beneficiary. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

An encounter between two people with a shared past and conflicting futures is played out on a split-image screen in this offbeat drama. An unnamed man (Aaron Eckhart) and woman (Helena Bonham Carter) are enjoying drinks and cigarettes in a hotel room after attending a wedding reception. At first, the two seem to be playing a flirtatious game, as he cheerfully but confidently advances toward her, and she seems at once attracted and put off by his bravado. Their pas de deux is shot and edited in split screen, with his image appearing in one half of the divided frame and hers appearing in the other. As time wears on, the man and woman begin crossing their appointed boundaries, and in some sequences one half of the frame represents the present while the other shows us events in the past. We learn that the man and woman had a tempestuous affair when they were in their late teens, and both are now committed to other people -- she has a husband, while he has a steady girl. How will the experiences of their past affect their present, and are they willing to betray their lovers for an evening's pleasure? Conversations With Other Women was the first feature film from director Hans Canosa. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A woman discovers that when it comes to love, sometimes opposites really do attract in this romantic comedy-drama. Kenya (Sanaa Lathan) is a successful African-American lawyer in her mid-thirties whose personal life is not going as well as her career. While she's attractive and intelligent, Kenya has rather high standards and isn't willing to settle for a man who isn't everything she wants. While attending a party, Kenya is introduced to Brian (Simon Baker), a landscape architect who handles the gardening at her host's mansion. Brian is immediately and obviously attracted to Kenya, through she doesn't feel the same way at all. However, she likes his work and hires him to refurbish her garden; before long, he asks her out on a date, and against her better judgment she accepts. While Kenya and Brian have little in common, in time they hit it off, and a romance begins to blossom between them. However, Brian happens to be white, which ruffles some feathers among Kenya's friends and family, who try to find her a more suitable, African-American suitor. Also starring Mike Epps, Donald Faison, Blair Underwood, and Alfre Woodard, Something New was the first feature film for director Sanaa Hamri, who previously established herself by directing music videos. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A woman learns to love life when she finds out she won't be around long in this comedy. Georgia Byrd (Queen Latifah) lives in New Orleans, where she works in the cookware department of an upscale gourmet supply shop. While Georgia carries a torch for Sean (LL Cool J), one of her co-workers, she doesn't have the nerve to tell him, and despite her estimable skills in the kitchen, she lives frugally and doesn't put her talent to use. Georgia's good friend Rochelle (Jane Adams) often tells her that life is short and she needs to live a little, but she doesn't pay her much mind until a visit to the doctor reveals that Georgia has a very rare medical condition, and only has three weeks to live. Throwing caution to the wind, Georgia cashes out her life savings and heads to Europe for a last bit of revelry. She checks into a four-star hotel, trades her drab clothes for haute couture, finds herself flirting with a handsome and powerful politician (Giancarlo Esposito), convinces the head of a cooking supplies firm (Timothy Hutton) that she's a high-powered executive from a rival company, and makes friends with a four-star chef (Gérard Depardieu). But when Sean learns the truth about Georgia's condition, he sets out to find her before their chance at romance has passed. Directed by Wayne Wang, Last Holiday is a remake of a 1950 British comedy, which starred Alec Guinness as a salesman with a few weeks to live. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

This film, based on the novel by Arthur Golden, unfolds from the perspective of Chiyo (Zhang Ziyi), a girl who, at the age of nine, is sold to a geisha house in Kyoto in the early 1930s. Here, she learns that becoming a geisha can be the single path to wealth and independence for a woman. The head geisha of her house, however, Hatsumomo (Gong Li), is bitterly jealous of Chiyo and abuses her at every opportunity. Eventually Chiyo is taken under the wing of Hatsumomo's rival, Mameha (Michelle Yeoh), by far the most famous and successful geisha in their district. Under Mameha's tutelage, Chiyo becomes Sayuri, the most legendary geisha in the nation, skilled in all areas, from conversation to dance, and sought after by seemingly every man alive...except for the one whom she has secretly longed for since she began her training, The Chairman (Ken Watanabe) -- a man who showed her kindness at a time when her view of the world had turned the most bleak. Now as World War II approaches, Japan stands at the brink of a new era and Sayuri must confront the possibility that history will leave all that she has worked for behind. ~ Cammila Collar, Rovi