Projects matching: Michael Nyman

Synopsis

The Libertine tells the true story of the Earl of Rochester (Johnny Depp), friend and confidant of King Charles II (John Malkovich), who delights in tweaking the noses of London’s royals with his merciless cynicism. His rebellious escapades and sexual liaisons inspire awe amongst men, until an affair with the beautiful young actress Lizzie (Samantha Morton) proves to be his undoing. 

Synopsis

Christmas Eve 2001: Seamus - a lonely poster-paster who works the night shift at Aldwych tube station - is taken on a nocturnal journey by the spirit of a deceased train driver. Having resigned himself to a life of drudgery and routine, the poster-paster's drab existence is questioned by the spirits of those who have died in the station throughout its 100 year history. Subterrain is a modern day fable that uses as its inspiration the story of Dickens' A Christmas Carol in the setting of Dante's Divine Comedy, with a conclusion akin to It's A Wonderful Life.

Synopsis

A modern day mermaid begs the moon to let her find true love on land. If she fails, she must return to the sea forever. She comes to London where she realises her dreams in the arms of a cockney bellboy. But is their faith strong enough to break the enchantment of the sea?

Synopsis

Two struggling, rather mediocre actors prove the little-known adage that bad actors make great crooks.

Synopsis

Daniel Dillon sold his wife and child - and then tried to buy forgiveness.

California 1849. The snowbound goldfields are littered with countless hopefuls rushing to make their fortune. Among them are the poor Irish immigrant Daniel Dillon, his wife Elena and baby daughter, Hope. Lost in a blizzard, exhausted and starving, they stumble upon a lonely hut with a sign above which reads 'Thy Kingdom Come'.

Fuelled by drink and a lust for gold, Dillon sells his wife and child to the prospector who lives there, in exchange for a gold claim.

Twenty years later Elena and Hope return to the pioneer settlement of Kingdom Come. Although rough and tough, the town is prosperous and Dillon is now a wealthy man of considerable authority, having as his mistress the local madam, Lucia.

The Claim is an epic story against the backdrop of American history in the making. This is a world of sweeping snowbound landscapes, goldmines, rowdy saloon bars and the racket and bustle of a pioneer town.

Hard times where jealousy and rejection take their toll and where one momentary lapse of weakness, twenty years earlier brings, a final and terrible retribution.
 
Based on Thomas Hardy's 'The Mayor of Casterbridge'.

Synopsis

"It's the simplest of stories but the dramatic core is very strong," says Neil Jordan of Graham Greene's novel on which The End Of The Affair is based.



Inspired by Greene's own affair with Catherine Walston, the story tells of an adulterous romance between writer Maurice Bendrix and civil servant's wife Sarah Miles. Miles breaks off the affair and Bendrix only later discovers that it is not another man who came between them but a bargain she made with God.



For Jordan, the casting was crucial to making this intense drama of moral dilemmas "understandable and believable in human terms". Ralph Fiennes proved a natural choice for Bendrix as far as the director and his long-time collaborator, producer Stephen Woolley, were concerned. "I thought Ralph would convey that disenchanted, embittered 1940s intellectual," says Jordan. When it came to choosing Sarah, Jordan tested several actresses but says Julianne Moore "blew me away". His decision more than paid off when Moore was nominated this year for best actress in the Academy Awards and the Golden Globes. Jordan regular Stephen Rea took on the role of Sarah's husband Henry. "It was a real challenge for Stephen, but he manages to portray Henry sympathetically without putting the other characters in a bad light," says Woolley.



After a limited US release at the end of 1999, The End Of The Affair was released in the UK in February and has since opened internationally. Besides best actress, it scored an Oscar nomination for Roger Pratt's cinematography, and Golden Globe nods for Jordan and for Michael Nyman's score. It also won several awards at this year's Baftas.

Synopsis

'When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life'





Set in London during Bonfire Night weekend, Wonderland follows three generations of one family as their separate paths cross each other.





Mum and Dad are marooned in a loveless marriage, both scarred by the absence of their son Darren. Debbie, Nadia and Molly are their three daughters. Molly is due to have her first baby any day. Debbie has a nine year only boy, Jack, but still wants to spend her nights on the town. Nadia lives alone and is looking for someone to fall in love with.





Set on location with a small crew, using a hand held camera, no lights, no slates, no boom and no extras, the film tries to capture the everyday experience of life in a big city. The characters in the film are the people you see every day on the train, on the bus, at work. Their problems are mundane and eternal: how to find some contentment in this world.

Synopsis

An epicene angel flutters its wings and smokes a cigarette in this ejaculatory study of frustration, torment, stupidity and insolence. With Cerith Wyn Evans as the angel and music by Michael Nyman. Made at the Royal College of Art in 1985.