This BBC TV is based on the true story of Deric and Diana Longden, who were faced with the debilitating symptoms of what was at the time undefined Chronic Fatigue and Immune Dysfunction Syndrome, with Diana a paralytic who has blackouts. The trap in dramatising this kind of tale is allowing the proceedings to get either too maudlin or too icky sweet uplifting. Adapter playwright Jack Rosenthal and director Richard Loncraine overcome this but fall into the opposing trap, by making the situations mundane and distracting the narrative with the seemingly unnecessary plight of the Longden's to be married son, and the lack of success of Deric's business. We don't so much resent the time given to Deric's doddery mother played by Thora Hird since her addle-mindness is so funny, with the reactions to her underplayed as a given. Thankfully as the Longden's, Julie Walters and particularly Jim Broadbent partially restore the balance by investing their characters with warmth and wit. Walters has the tougher role since it is her last wish for Deric to re-marry, and though she makes her Diana someone to be treasured we also see the pain and frustration of her dependence on Deric. Unlike the couple in the Jill Clayburgh Miles to Go, Diana's wish is only activated by Deric's chance meeting with Aileen (if that name wasn't based on the real person it would be unforgiveable), a writer who happens to be blind. As Diana witnesses Deric's interest in Aileen, she sees that the blindness would allow for Deric to continue his need to watch out for someone, without them being totally dependent. The arrangement isn't pushed, much like Diana's anger towards the medical profession's inability to help her. Since the disease she suffers from is unknown to them, they dismiss her as an "hysteric" which matches the medieval hand aides she is given to wear. The film's second half is definitely stronger than the first, as if we need to pause after the gothicness of Diana's encounters with hospitals and before Aileen makes her entrance, and by the conclusion we become grateful that things are left somewhat open, which nicely undercuts what could have deteriorated into tragedy and sentimental sludge.
Well worth watching.
Julie Walters is very good in this movie. It's a wonderful story about peoples tragedies...and how strong it can make one.....and persistent.
I can't stress enough how good this programme is. I live in the UK and it's only been shown twice on TV and is not yet availabe on DVD or video here, but luckily i recorded it second time it was on, so i haven't had to cope without it. The story is so sad, yet happy and amusing at the same time. I wish it didn't end how it does (i wont give it away), but apart from that, i can't fault it. Julie Walters deserved her BAFTA, but the whole cast was incredible. Paul Reiser was hilarious and portrayed the characters emotions perfectly. And then, of course, there's Amy Robbins who shines in everything and can do no wrong. If you haven't seen this yet, then stop whatever else you're doing and see it. More Info about this DVD Director(s): Paul Seed DVD Release Date: Released the 04 November 2003 Usually ships within 24 hours
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Falling neatly into the Enchanted April and Under the Tuscan Sun category, the made-for-HBO My House in Umbria boasts lovely Italian vistas and comforting Englishness. But it begins with a note of violence: on a train rolling through the sunny countryside, a terrorist bomb detonates, killing a handful of passengers. The strangers that survive recuperate at the villa of an eccentric but kindly romance novelist, also a survivor of the blast. She's played by Maggie Smith, who bustles through the role with a pleasing mix of gin and daffodils. Chris Cooper is an uptight American who comes to the villa to pick up his orphaned niece and bristles at the bohemian atmosphere. Director Richard Loncraine maintains the melancholy mood amidst the sun-dappled gardens of Umbria, but... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Richard Loncraine DVD Release Date: Released the 25 November 2003 Usually ships in 24 hours
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In the sensible yet elegant hands of actresses Helen Mirren and Julie Walters, Calendar Girls walks a fine line between sappiness and snickering and ends up both wonderfully funny and gently touching. When her best friend Annie (Walters, Billy Elliot) loses her husband, Chris (Mirren, Prime Suspect, Gosford Park) cooks up a scheme to memorialize him: They and their friends--all fiftysomething women--will make a nude calendar to raise money for the hospital where he died. The calendar becomes hugely popular, but the success may drive a wedge between the two women's friendship. Based on an actual event, Calendar Girls carefully balances the stories of several women as it follows the calendar's media explosion, becoming a surprisingly moving fable of loss,... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Nigel Cole DVD Release Date: Released the 04 May 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Gorgeously directed, and with some wonderful ensemble performances by Helena Bonham Carter, Olivia Williams and Paul Bettany, The Heart of Me shows the terrible price one must pay for choosing between propriety and passion. The traditional romantic triangle is played out amongst the background of the well-bred English upper crust, where emotions are kept in check, and where decorum and respectability must be adhered to at all costs. For a film that is supposed to be about sexual passion, there is a noticeable lack of it, and what passion there is, is presented in a willowy, breezy "Marie Claire" kind of way. But this minor quibble shouldn't negate the power and the overall emotional effectiveness of the story - it's still very well done.
As Roy (Tom Wilkinson, In the Bedroom) and Irma (Jessica Lange, Cape Fear, Tootsie) celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary, Roy passes out. While meeting with their pastor, Roy reveals that he's a woman trapped in a man's body, and he wants to get a sex change--setting in motion a complex and emotionally fraught conflict between husband and wife, individual and community, and parent and child. Normal explores Roy's gender dysphoria with empathy, but also has an eye for the social and familial absurdities that come up. The humor, far from trivializing the issue, steers it away from cloying sentiment or politically correct sanctimony. The movie captures the confusion of Roy's friends and coworkers with realism and without judgment, and the stressful... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Jane Anderson (II) DVD Release Date: Released the 07 October 2003 Usually ships in 24 hours
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