In the 1940s and 50s there was some kind of rule that Americans B-list stars had to star in British B-movies (when there were double bills). I'm not sure why. This B-category film reminded me of those days, with an American "star" (Christina Ricci) standing out like a sore thumb in the middle of a British picture. It must have been something to do with the financing, although it's billed as a Film on Four production. Anyway, the casting of Ricci drove a stake through the heart of the movie before it was ever filmed. I never believed either the romance that drove the story or the intrigue that lay behind it. After a briefly engaging beginning, the film declined into sophomoric nonsense. The British film is in a parlous state, and we were told about 10 years ago that Alan Parker was going to clean it all up and get good scripts and directors happening, so that 99 out of a hundred did not flop and pass straight into video obscurity. Somehow this one squeezed through all the many blockages that stand in the way of any production, and I suspect that Ms Ricci was the reason. Pity!
Miranda
(2002)
An American lead in a UK B-movie movie reminds me of the 1950s
1 October 2009
Warning: Spoilers