The Search for John Gissing (2001)

Matthew Barnes is a young exec on the move up who finds himself a pawn in corporate in-fighting when he's sent to London to oversee a merger. He's to replace John Gissing; Gissing's gotten ... See full summary »

Director:

Mike Binder

Writer:

Mike Binder

Stars:

Mike Binder, Tim Briggs, Allan Corduner

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Mike Binder	...	Matthew Barnes
Tim Briggs	...	Hotel Clerk
Allan Corduner	...	Francois Fuller
Janeane Garofalo	...	Linda Barnes
Frank Harper	...	Dexter
Caroline Holdaway	...	Gissing's Secretary
James Lance	...	Donny the Janitor
Lee Oakes	...	Cousin Carl Gissing
Angela Pleasence	...	Johanna Frielduct
Alan Rickman	...	John Gissing
Juliet Stevenson	...	Gwenyth Moore
Owen Teale	...	Giles Hanagan
Nigel Terry	...	Alan Jardeen
Sonya Walger	...	Sister Mary
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
David Reid	...	Man Who Wants to be a Woman (as Dave Reid)

Storyline

Matthew Barnes is a young exec on the move up who finds himself a pawn in corporate in-fighting when he's sent to London to oversee a merger. He's to replace John Gissing; Gissing's gotten wind of it, and he makes sure that Matthew and his wife Linda, who has dutifully but reluctantly come to England, have a miserable first few days there. By the time Matthew figures out what's happening and declares a counter offensive, it may be too late to save himself from a transfer to Detroit. With Gissing still holding lots of cards and Linda more unhappy by the moment, Matthew must reevaluate. All out war? A partnership with Gissing? Some third way?

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Plot Keywords:

dancing | merger | subterfuge | low budget film | office | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Quotes

[first lines]
Matthew Barnes: The fact that we weren't met at Heathrow was frustrating, I can't deny that. But when you work for one of these international conglomerates like I do you kind of expect that every now and then there'll be a paper jam that takes your life along with it.

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Connections

Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Alan Rickman Performances (2016)

User Reviews

3 stars

In this film, Mike Binder (who also directed) is an American businessman named Matthew Barnes who just arrived in London with his wife (played by Janeane Garofalo), where Matthew is supposed to take over the final negotiations for a big merger with a German firm. Unfortunately, all of the arrangements were made by John Gissing (Alan Rickman), who feels passed over for the job and sabotages Matthew at every turn. Another key character is their boss, Francois (played by Allan Corduner, who played Sullivan in "Topsy-Turvy").

All of the characters are interesting, as is the direction and editing (which features lots of jump cuts). All in all I was pleasantly surprised given the poor review I had read in the local newspaper. Seen at Cinequest (the San Jose, CA film festival), where it was the opening night film on 2/21/2002.

Details

Official Sites:

Sunlight Productions [United States] Sunlight Productions [United States]

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 November 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Busca por John Gissing

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dyno-B Films, Sunlight Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color