Pluskylang Great Film overall

ShangLuda Admirable film.

Baseshment I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Fleur Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

jotix100 The arrival of the year 2000 marked a series of celebration in the world. England had big plans for the arrival of the millennium, so it was only fitting the organization for the awaited event fell in one of the country's most regarded P.R. men, Gideon Warner. Gideon, in much demand, begins work into what was going to be a spectacular display from a dome that was to be the center piece of the glittering night.Gideon Warner did not come from the rich classes. As a matter of fact, he was a self made man. He has had many women in his life. As we meet him, he is living with one woman that is into the ritzy life in which Gideon moves. At one point, she comments they have received twenty seven invitations to different affairs in which his appearance is a must. Natasha, his only daughter, resents his father infidelities to her mother while she was living. In fact, Gideon committed the ultimate sin of not being by her bedside while a younger Natasha has to experience her demise because he was on the phone taking care of his personal business.When the parents of a dead boy appear at his door demanding an explanation as to why he was killed, the target is one of Gideon's clients, a politician he has been advising on his image. The grieving father wants to make the man pay for what he perceives was the cause of death, but Gideon takes him back to his office, thus preventing a bigger confrontation. Stella, the mother of the boy, is not as aggressive. In fact, Stella is a free spirit who quickly transforms Gideon from the style of life into a caring human being, bringing him closer to Natasha in the process.A television film directed by Stephen Poliakoff, was shown on a cable channel recently. It might have been distributed as a commercial feature, but we are not certain it was the case. The action takes place in 1997 and the death of Princess Diana is prominently shown as part as the action. The screenplay is by the director, who wanted perhaps to paint a broad canvas about that part of British society at the center of the action, which could well be the same as in America or other countries where the media is predominant in public affairs, and how it affects the people behind it.Bill Nighy is Gideon Warner, walking as though in a fog throughout the film. Miranda Richardson appears as Stella, a much down to earth person completely the opposite from Gideon. Their romance seems a bit far fetched, at best. A blonde Emily Blunt plays Natasha, the young woman that has grown up resenting her father and all what he stands for. Robert Lindsay serves as the narrator, in a role that does not make much sense, but he is an actor that is welcome in anything because of his winning personality.

Eleanor Twiss Gideon's Daughter is a story of forgiveness and redemption. Gideon, an inveterate womanizer,leaves his young daughter, Natasha, at her mother's bedside while the mother lay dying. His phone calls to his women keep him away for 30 minutes. The mother dies and Natasha has no one there to comfort her. A homeless man has wandered into the room and sits beside Natasha, witness to the neglect at a critical time in her young life. This scene is one of the keys to understanding the story.Years later, Gideon witnesses a protest regarding the lack of care by motorists for children on bicycles. Gideon meets a bohemian woman named Stella who becomes his friend. Lest he is never able to forgive himself, Stella convinces him to borrow her camera to attend and tape a performance by Natasha as she prepares to graduate from high school. Natasha is now a beautiful and talented young woman. She performs a song regarding her father and his women.As Gideon develops a relationship with Stella, Gideon comes to learn of Stella's own lack of self-forgiveness over letting her young son go for his first bike ride without her. He is the child who was killed by a motorist during the protest Gideon had witnessed. This scene is also a key to understanding the story.As their relationship progresses, together Gideon and Stella find forgiveness and redemption.Kauffman "The supreme act of courage is that of forgiving ourselves. That which I was not but could have been. That which I would have done but did not do. Can I find the fortitude to remember in truth,to understand, to submit, to forgive and to be free to move on in time?"

annewee Well. What can I really say? It was a marvellous peace of work! In scenes where Stella broke down, I broke down too. Poliakoff is just a genius beyond words and the cast with Miranda Richardson and Bill Nighy is absolutely stunning. Every scene of the film is a thrill and the performances of the cast is GREAT! The character I loved the most was naturally Stella. Stella is played bu Miranda Richardson and GOSH did I become moved! At the end of the movie, it just stroke me how much Stella is like me. At least the wardrobe (;)). The eclectic style and the fresh mind is exactly what moved me in a character. The crying scene is played magnificently by Miranda and I expect her to win an award for this movie. If she doesn't, I will make my own award and give to her. Bill Nighy also did a fantastic job as Gideon himself. My mouth dropped open....And also the music moved me, and the song Gideon's daughter sings.Tp put it all shortly; FANTASTIC!!!

missmarmite This is definitely not a film for everyone. But I was eager to see it and happy to get it on DVD, as I live outside the UK and don't get the BBC. Bill Nighy, Miranda Richardson and Robert Lindsay together in one film is must, no matter what the film might be about.This is a slow film, things happen almost in "real time", and the characters are very realistic. I work in a shop in a big train station, I get to see the most different people every day. People like Gideon or Stella do exist, and why not make a film about characters like them? The most beautiful or rather endearing scene, enchanting maybe even, was when Stella and Gideon lie next to each other in Stella's bed and talk about their lives and loved ones. A very quiet scene, and endlessly touching to watch.Someone else said here, people probably have to be quite creative to understand this film. This might be true. You have to let go of conventional films a bit to be able to embrace this one. But if you're open enough to new impressions, then this is the right film for you. Or if you just want to see excellent performances by aforementioned actors.