Micky (Tuppence Middleton; TVs The Spies of Warsaw) a young woman suffering from amnesia begins a tormented road to recovery having survived a house fire that took her childhood friend's life. Left with terrible injuries Micky struggles to regain her memories and piece together what happened. Soon she discovers that the fire may not have been an accident and that a sinister obsession may have cost her more than she knows. Also stars Alexandra Roach (TVs Utopia) Aneurin Bernard (TVs The White Queen) and Kerry Fox (Shallow Grave) and directed by Ian Softley (Backbeat Hackers).
Phyllida Lloyd, who directed Meryl Streep in Mamma Mia!, takes a less exuberant tack in this unexpectedly poignant biopic. In the script, written by Shame's Abi Morgan, Lloyd depicts the elderly Dame Thatcher (Streep in a thoroughly convincing performance) as a frail figure replaying key moments in her life while her mind still continues to function. Her trajectory begins with grocer Alfred Roberts (Downton Abbey's Iain Glen), who became the mayor of Grantham, instilling in his daughter, Margaret (Alexandra Roach), a passion for politics. After graduating from Oxford, she felt ready to enter the fray, at which point she met Denis Thatcher (Harry Lloyd), who cheered her along on the road from Parliament to 10 Downing Street, where they lived during her time as Britain's first female prime minister (Jim Broadbent portrays the grey-haired and ghostly Denis). While closing mines, dodging IRA hits, and overseeing a war, the blue-clad titan built alliances with Airey Neave (Nicholas Farrell) and Geoffrey Howe (Anthony Head), but she would lose them both. If her will was strong, she had no time for feminine niceties like conciliation and forgiveness. The film goes on to suggest that she never cultivated the kinds of female friendships that might have sustained her in retirement, though her daughter (Tyrannosaur's Olivia Colman) did what she could. Instead, Denis remained her closest confidante until his departure, after which she had nothing but fading memories. The upshot is an uneasy combination of admiration for her leadership qualities and disappointment in her interpersonal skills. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
Adapted from the best-selling novel by children's laureate and writer of 'War Horse' Michael Morpurgo, 'Private Peaceful' is an emotional and uplifting film about the journey of two devoted brothers through their childhood and adolescence in rural Devon to enlisting in the military for the First World War. On the home front, 'Private Peaceful' is a story of fierce family loyalties and brothers divided by their love for the same girl. At war, it encompasses heroism, cowardice, brutality and th...
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