Stephen Poliakoff's Gideon's Daughter (2005)

Average rating

(68%)

Starring:	Bill Nighy \| Miranda Richardson \| Robert Lindsay \| Emily Blunt \| Ronni Ancona
Director:	Stephen Poliakoff
Studio:	2 ENTERTAIN VIDEO
Run time:	105 mins
Genres:	Drama
Languages:	English
Hearing-impaired:	English
Released:	February 27, 2006
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Gideon Warner is a hugely successful public relations consultant. He gives his professional advice about hair, clothes and social activities to the wealthy, to politicians, to businessmen and rising starlets. But despite his success he has become disheartened about the business circles he mixes in and more concerned over his family.

Highest rated reviews

9 out of 10 people found the following review helpful:

Mesmerising and beautiful drama

A Customer from Burton-on-Trent, England, 28th February, 2006

Not always easy watching for the parents among us, but mesmerising at the same time, this brilliant drama explores the fears and anguish that can come with parenthood. It cleverly positions these scenes against a backdrop of Britain in the late 1990s where Ministers and millionaire businessmen rely on the advice of PR advisors like a newborn baby relies on its carers for food. Seeing Miranda Richardson and Bill Nighy topping the cast list usually means you can relax and know you are in safe hands. And this talented duo did not let us down with searing performances. Miranda plays a woman struggling to deal with the tragic death of her young son in a road accident. She's found her own coping strategies to deal with the 'if only' thoughts that haunt her. Then she meets Gideon, played by Bill Nighy, the PR guru that everyone comes to for advice. Outwardly calm he is tortured by fears for the safety of his beautiful, wilful, teenage daughter as she leaves the safety of school for the world outside. And it's a world Gideon knows is full of dangers which emerge hourly in the news bulletins - including one huge news story that breaks on a Sunday morning concerning the death of another beautiful woman as her car is pursued by Paparazzi through the Paris streets.......... Spend a couple of hours with this thought-provoking and beautiful drama and it will be time well spent.

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6 out of 6 people found the following review helpful:

Poliakoff classic

Merlin from London, 28th February, 2006

If like myself you feel indifferent for Poliakoff's work then just choosing whether to watch this or not will be a toss-up. I was not convinced after seeing the trailers on TV and would have avoided it if there had been anything worth watching on t'other side. I am so glad I watched it. It really was beautifully written and was quite simply easy watching. Poliakoff is clever, in all of his plays, at capturing human emotion and this is no exception. I do like Bill Nighy but his acting is quite one dimensional. This part though was perfect for him and he is extremely likeable in his character. Richardson is always good. Gideon's Daughter is a film about celebrity and grief. Nighy plays a PR guru in the nineties who loses his wife and tries to cope with his daughter who hates him because of his philandering. Nighy's character lives in a world of grief and worry for his daughter and his concerns about her leaving home or dying. His already strained relationship with his daughter is not made easier when she decides to drop a bombshell regarding her future plans. Richardson plays a woman whose son is killed in a road accident, the incident breaks up her marriage and she withdraws into her own world to try to come to terms with her grief. Their meeting is the catalyst for understanding, hope and recovery. Splendid stuff. I was moved.

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Most recent reviews

complex relationships in life

A Customer from norfolk england, 6th November, 2007

this is one of those films that is interwoven with so many stories that in essence come down to the complicated relationships we all have in life and our inability to understand or express them. Gideon is a successful consultant and the story is based around the 2000 new years eve at the dome. however he is losing grip on his own personal life and the distance between him and his daughter who has just left university and is thinking of going abroad is growing and destroying him. he also meets a lady (miranda richardson) who has lost her young son in a tragic way and they build a relationship. again the story is complex but not in a confusing but an interesting way. it is the kind of film you think about a long while after you have watched it and for any 'english drama fans' it is a must.

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