You may well ask, why should you watch this particular version of Jane Austen's Persuasion? well, settle in and let me tell you. I think I own almost every filmed version of every Austen novel. I find different strengths and weaknesses in all of them, but I would not trash any of them the way people do some versions because they don't stay true enough to the books. I write novels myself in my spare time and - were I lucky enough (or good enough) to have any made into a film - I would not be offended if they were changed. Books and movies have different needs and ways of telling a story. That said, I really love this interpretation of Persuasion. I greatly appreciate how British productions often don't automatically lunge for the most beautiful or most handsome actors and actresses for their lead roles, as American productions are apt to do. Sally Hawkins is by no means ugly, but she is almost homely in some of her scenes, such as when she is weeping. I read a criticism in a review of how the actors stare into the camera, but I think Sally is at her most masterful doing just that, looking right at us, such as in the very first scene, or the weeping scene I just mentioned. Her facial expression changes are sometimes dramatic and other times subtle but still very effective. I think all of the acting is wonderful here, from the effete snob father right down through to the many minor characters. I do admit I was a bit mystified by one aspect of the ending. I will try not to give it away to those who may actually be deciding whether to watch it, but the book's ending is changed for the film, which as I said above, isn't a problem for me in itself. There are enough versions of Austen movies or mini-series out there that I am fine with each doing some interpreting. And in this version, they want to make the final scene more dramatic. That is fine. But what struck me as weird was that Anne follows a character out the front door just seconds behind him, but that person is nowhere to be seen on the street, and she goes off in pursuit. It wouldn't have taken much to have Anne be delayed leaving just long enough to make it realistic that there would be no sign of him when she steps outside. But I forgive them that oddity. Perhaps it was the result of an editing room dilemma. Also in that scene they show her walking from above, which makes for a strange angle. Since then I have seen that technique used more, so perhaps it is a new thing. The music by Martin Phipps is also wonderful, moody and rich. I am surprised that the soundtrack was not made available (the last time I checked). The closest I have come to finding it was, oddly enough, a CD called H2O by the Canadian nature CD producer Dan Gibson. It is similar to the main theme music of the movie, though obviously not the same thing.
Erwan, a strapping Breton who clears mines for a living, is shaken when he discovers that his father is not his father. Despite his affection for the man who raised him, he quietly sets out to find his biological father, and succeeds in locating Joseph, an endearing old codger he takes a liking to. Just when things look settled, another unexpected “bomb” hits Erwan in the form of Anna, an elusive nymph.
The mother of a severely traumatized daughter enlists the aid of a unique horse trainer to help the girl's equally injured horse.
A ticking-time-bomb insomniac and a slippery soap salesman channel primal male aggression into a shocking new form of therapy. Their concept catches on, with underground "fight clubs" forming in every town, until an eccentric gets in the way and ignites an out-of-control spiral toward oblivion.
When their ocean liner capsizes, a group of passengers struggle to survive and escape.
September of 1944, a few days before Finland went out of the Second World War. A chained to a rock Finnish sniper-kamikadze Veikko managed to set himself free. Ivan, a captain of the Soviet Army, arrested by the Front Secret Police 'Smersh', has a narrow escape. They are soldiers of the two enemy armies. A Lapp woman Anni gives a shelter to both of them at her farm. For Anni they are not enemies, but just men.
20 volunteers agree to take part in a seemingly well-paid experiment advertised by the university. It is supposed to be about aggressive behavior in an artificial prison situation. A journalist senses a story behind the ad and smuggles himself in among the test subjects. They are randomly divided into prisoners and guards. What seems like a game at the beginning soon turns into bloody seriousness.
Suzanne Stone wants to be a world-famous news anchor and she is willing to do anything to get what she wants. What she lacks in intelligence, she makes up for in cold determination and diabolical wiles. As she pursues her goal with relentless focus, she is forced to destroy anything and anyone that may stand in her way, regardless of the ultimate cost or means necessary.
Wounded Civil War soldier John Dunbar tries to commit suicide—and becomes a hero instead. As a reward, he's assigned to his dream post, a remote junction on the Western frontier, and soon makes unlikely friends with the local Sioux tribe.
"The Hours" is the story of three women searching for more potent, meaningful lives. Each is alive at a different time and place, all are linked by their yearnings and their fears. Their stories intertwine, and finally come together in a surprising, transcendent moment of shared recognition.
A psychologist is sent to a space station orbiting a planet called Solaris to investigate the death of a doctor and the mental problems of cosmonauts on the station. He soon discovers that the water on the planet is a type of brain which brings out repressed memories and obsessions.