The Criminal
Synopsis
Details
- Year
- 2000
- Type of project
- Features
- Running time
- 98 mins
- Format
- 35mm Kodak
- Director
-
Julian Simpson
- Producer
- Dan Jenneti, Michael Heuser, Suzette Newman
- Executive Producer
- Dan Jenneti, Michael Heuser, Suzette Newman
- Editor
- Mark Aarons
- Screenwriter
- Julian Simpson
- Director of Photography
- Nic Morris
- Sound
- John Rodda
- Composer
- Music Sculptors + Various Artists
- Principal cast
- Steven MacKintosh, Natasha Little, Eddie Izzard, Bernard Hill, Holly Aird
Categories
Production Status
Production Company
Christopher Johnson Company
T 020 7263 6946
Sales Company
Storm Entertainment
T 310 656 2500
Page updates
This page was last updated on 12th May 2025. Please let us know if we need to make any amendments or request edit access by clicking below.
See also
You may also be interested in other relevant projects in the database.
The Criminal
Director: Julian Simpson
Year: 2000
Encouraged by the response to his short film Any Dream Will Do and by editor Mark Aarons, writer-director Julian Simpson began developing a first feature inspired by film noir and Hitchcockian chase thrillers in which a hapless innocent is caught in the vortex of events beyond their control. "I didn't want to make a film noir picture as such," Simpson explains. "I don't think you can emulate something which was so particular to a period, but I was fascinated by the premise of a relentless chase and how the directors of that time conveyed a story." In The Criminal, Steven MacKintosh plays a penniless musician whose close encounter with a beautiful woman (Natasha Little) leaves him the prime suspect in a brutal murder. The more he tries to prove his innocence, the more he is trapped in a far-reaching conspiracy. Response to the screenplay was immediate from industry figures and actors alike and the project gained early momentum when Simpson teamed up with producer Christopher Johnson. A round of meetings brought H Michael Heuser's Storm Entertainment on board as a sales agent and a slew of European pre-sales followed that provided approximately half of the budget. The remaining half of the financing was secured through partnership with Palm Pictures. The film was warmly received at the 1999 London Film Festival and was subsequently purchased by Paramount Pictures for UK, Australia and New Zealand. It opens in the UK this October.
Paper Plane
Director: Saoirse Ronan
Year: 2026
When a defiant young girl stages a silent protest, refusing to return home until the disruptive presence of her father is gone, her mother must decide whether to follow her or let her go. Official Selection, Venice International Film Festival - in Competition Orizzonti Corti
Aurora
Director: Rita Osei
Year: 2024
Aurora, a perimenopausal vampire, is on a quest to kill a habit that won't die! Official Selection 2025, Final Girls Berlin, Germany (International Women's Day screening) Official Selection 2025, Romford Horror Film Festival, Essex Official Selection 2024, Tweetfest, London Official Selection 2024,Unrestricted View Horror Film Festival, London (Opening Night Gala) (Nominated Best Director and Actress Short Film) Official Selection 2024, Haunted House Fear Fest, New York (Winner Best Director, Cinematography, Actress, Supporting Actress in a Drama) Preview screening 2023, 225 Film Club Festival