John Sessions

If you like well-made period movies, with interesting stories and great acting, this is the movie for you. Revolving around the struggle of Sofya Tolstoy to wrestle the family inheritance from an overly devoted student of the Tolstoy movement, the film has wit and heart in developing the relationships. Particularly the loving but exasperated one between Leo and Sofya Tolstoy, played by the always dependable (and indeed brilliant) Christopher Plummer and Helen Mirren.

Lighthouse Hill is a fantasy, a romance and a comedy. But mostly, it is a film for anyone who has ever failed to be true to their own nature. Charlie Davidson, an outwardly successful man, struggles against societal expectations. Charlie is publisher of an award-winning magazine, yet sees only his failures. After an investor backs out of a deal that would take the magazine to greater heights, Charlie and his partner are put into a terrible bind. Charlie's first instinct is to run, and the characters he meets along the way could fill a season full of Seinfeld episodes. The original music, by Christopher Gunning, is evocative of both the locations and the emotions. Cinematograher Tony Imi does some excellent exterior work. I only wish we had more shots from the top of the lighthouse. Imi and editor Alan Strachan do a good job "dirtying up" some flashback footage to excellent effect. The cast is good, with standout performances by Jason Flemyng as Charlie, John Sessions as Mr. Reynard and Annabelle Apsion as Honey Alexander. The screenplay by Sharon Cobb has some nifty twists. I empathize with both Charlie and his mother. Ms. Cobbs writes well-rounded characters: there are no Snidely Whiplashes here. There is excellent chemistry between Charlie (Jason Flemyng) and Grace (Kirsty Mitchell). Recommended.

What if you had given up all hope of following your passions or finding true love all in the name of pleasing everyone else? Charlie Davidson feels that to win everyone's approval (especially his mother's) he turns to a loan shark rather than friends or family to save his fledgling magazine. Following a bizarre accident, Charlie runs from his life stumbling upon the village of Lighthouse Hill and its eccentric residents who would prefer to stay hidden away in its fantasy world rather than let the outside in. Lighthouse Hill, a quirky British romantic comedy starring Jason Flemyng, is a feel-good story telling us we can find hope and love in very strange places. When Charlie meets Grace, the village beauty following her father's footsteps restoring an "antique" carnival, everything about this odd town, and his life, begins to make sense. Directed by David Fairman, the film is awkward in direction and editing in some scenes, well done and hilarious in others. Sharon Y. Cobb's delightful script has you identifying with at least one of the characters. Whether it's Grace, as she honors her dead father's dream, Charlie, as he becomes aware of the irony of his choices, or Alfred's inability to cope with his son's death 20 years ago, someone in the story will move you. You will find the film's sweetness mixed with lots of sass keeps it from becoming overly sentimental or sappy. Good date movie! Curl up with your partner, a favorite glass of wine and enjoy its "magic".

http://braidedthreads.blogspot.com/2008/10/sheepish-shepherd.html It struck me how little the main character (played by Matt Damon) actually does in this movie. He never makes any active choices - when he is directing things for the CIA, he announces, and others carry out his decisions. He is pretty blank as a character. He does make a couple of choices with regard to his son, though. But he also doesn't choose to deter his son beyond his vague suggestions about life in the CIA. Most other decisions are made for him and he follows orders when he is not giving orders. He does make the choice to turn around in the hallway and go back to the Skull and Bones innitiation. He chooses that life. He does what is expected of him. He has sex when he is dragged into it, he gets married when the girl getspregnant, he goes overseas when asked.