Drama > Frears, Stephen Drama

Not a good week for Her Majesty!

Advantages: Excellent film
Disadvantages: none

...vividly that incredible week at the beginning of September 1997 - the week Princess Diana died. Particularly I remember the complete shock, followed by an outpouring of public grief never known before and probably never likely to be known again in our lifetime, and the hostility vented against the Royal Family for not showing their emotions and instead opting for the 'stiff upper lip!' I was never a big Diana fan, although I did feel her death was ...
...to note that one of the things that this film did not do, at least in my mind, was to come down on one side or another and I think that all the events were depicted in a very honest way. The key players in this film are obviously the Queen herself, Prince Philip, Prince Charles, the Queen Mother and Tony and Cherie Blair. Princes William and Harry are not shown at all which I think was a very good decision as even after all the time that had elapsed ...

kingfisher111 24.03.2008 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of The Queen (DVD)

Will You Dangerously Liaise With Me?

Advantages: Entertaining period drama
Disadvantages: Sad ending...

... CAST/CREW Dangerous Liaisons stars Glenn Close and John Malkovich as the two evil protagonists and Michelle Pfeiffer as the innocent pawn in their malicious game of spite and sexual jealousy, with strong support from Uma Thurman and Keanu Reeves, as well as from Swoosie Kurtz and Peter Capaldi. The film was released in December 1988 and was based on a play by Christopher Hampton which was itself based on a classic 18th century novel Les ...
...lead roles) and Valmont. Dangerous Liaisons won 3 Oscars for Best Art Direction/Set Direction, Best Costume Design and Best Writing/Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium and was nominated for a further 4 including Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress for Close and Pfeiffer respectively. Pfeiffer won the 1990 BAFTA for Best Supporting Actress for the film. The film also won a plethora of other international awards. WHERE TO GET ...

anonymili 14.10.2005 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Dangerous Liaisons (DVD)

All Beginning but no middle and little end

Advantages: Good acting, watchable
Disadvantages: Ending out of nowhere

...well off Jewish family while Liam prepares for his first communion, being taught how to avoid hell at his local school. The film is very similar to other period family films (such as Anglea's Ashes) as it focusses on the family, primarily through the eyes of a small boy. Liam does avoid the voice over from the grown up version of the child as the main character speaks very little on account of his stutter. The film follows the family through hardships ...
...while trying to find work while Liam's sister finds herself covering for her female boss who is having an affair with Spider from Coronation Street. The film carries on at a leisurely pace, trying to highlight the hypocrisy of the church and the beginning of feelings of resentment of the Jewish and Irish families in Liverpool who are well off or working. The British Facist Party are introduced and it looks as if the film will explore fascism in ...

Ork1927 01.04.2001 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Liam (DVD)

We are the people you do not see..........

Advantages: Fantastic combinations of everything
Disadvantages: Nothing

Dirty Pretty Things is a gritty urban thriller set in and around the streets of London. It is a cleverly filmed film, providing a good plot with a sort of social commentary as we follow two illegal immigrants as they struggle to find some standard of life in our nation's capital. Right from the off, the most powerful part of the film is its visual effects, as shown by Okwe at the beginning, and then further on in the film by Shenay. Okwe is a Nigerian ...
...hotel porter by night. Shenay is a maid in the hotel, and she lets Okwe sleep on her couch. There is relatively little conversation between the two of them, and it is this that makes the situation more believable than if they had rabbited on at each other. As the film develops, Okwe makes a gruesome discovery one night, leading the pair of them to become involved in something sinister that highlights just how far some people will go to gain acceptance ...

pmcds 21.06.2009 · Read full review
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Review of Dirty Pretty Things (DVD)

The Aftermath

Advantages: Strong performances and snappy writing.
Disadvantages: It feels more like a TV mini-series than a film

In the week following the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, the British royal family is holed up at Balmoral. The Queen is determined to face the news with quiet stoicism, but is constantly badgered by the new Prime Minister Tony Blair to make a more public response to events. As the tide of public opinion turns, the head of state is forced to reassess her position. Director Stephen Frears originally made this film for television as a companion ...
...of the performances led to it getting a cinematic release. However, its small screen origins really show throughout. It just doesn't have the scope of a bigger budget production. There are too many interior scenes padded out with montages of contemporaneous news footage and static shots of the exteriors of royal residences. The visual style and palette isn't quite broad enough to convince of its worthiness to appear at the cinema. There are a few ...

afy9mab 23.02.2007 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of The Queen (DVD)