MIKE NEWELL

Bil’s rating (out of 5): BB

United Kingdom, 1995.   British Broadcasting Corporation, British Screen Productions, Portman Productions, Wolfhound Productions.   Screenplay by Charles Wood, based on the novel by Beryl Bainbridge.   Cinematography by Dick Pope.   Produced by Hilary Heath, Philip Hinchcliffe.   Music by Richard Hartley.   Production Design by Mark Geraghty.   Costume Design by Joan Bergin.   Film Editing by Jon Gregory.   

Georgina Cates plays an actress in 1947 Liverpool who auditions and gets work in a local theatrical production company. She finds herself working with a has-been great actor (Alan Rickman) and a foppish director (Hugh Grant), who spends too much of his time gaggling at the little boys in his plays. She has an affair with Rickman, and we’re left wondering why we are even watching. This film is flat and not in the least bit funny.