Gideon's Daughter (2005)

Bill Nighy and Miranda Richardson star in a story of grief and celebrity, set in the intense spring and summer of New Labour's election victory and Diana's death. Nighy is a PR guru who has... See full summary »

Director:

Stephen Poliakoff

Writer:

Stephen Poliakoff

Stars:

Bill Nighy, Miranda Richardson, Emily Blunt

Won 2 Golden Globes. Another 2 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bill Nighy	...	Gideon Warner
Miranda Richardson	...	Stella
Emily Blunt	...	Natasha
Robert Lindsay	...	Sneath
Ronni Ancona	...	Barbara
Tom Hardy	...	Andrew
Tom Goodman-Hill	...	Dent
Joanna Page	...	Diane
David Westhead	...	Bill
Samantha Whittaker	...	Becca
Kerry Shale	...	Badalamenti
Daniel Mendoza	...	Badalamenti Spokesman
Cate Fowler	...	Council Leader
Michael Fitzpatrick	...	American Producer
Graham Cull	...	Hospital Stranger

Storyline

Bill Nighy and Miranda Richardson star in a story of grief and celebrity, set in the intense spring and summer of New Labour's election victory and Diana's death. Nighy is a PR guru who has to stop and re-evaluate his world when his daughter threatens to leave his life, perhaps as revenge for his serial infidelities. Richardson plays a mother trying to bury her grief in an unconventional way after the loss of her young son.

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

TV-14

Details

Official Sites:

BBC [UK]

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 March 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Filha de Gideon

Filming Locations:

Edinburgh, Scotland, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

BBC America,British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC),FremantleMedia

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

David Westhead was injured in an accident while filming.

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Goofs

During the cycle path protest, Stella puts her camera in its case, but in the next shot it is back out again.

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Connections

Follows Friends & Crocodiles (2005)

User Reviews

And your point is?

Frankly, this 'much anticipated' feature-length is all over the place, self-indulgent dialogue matched by equally indulgent performances by well known actors, highly aware they are in a 'quality drama' production. People all over Islington and Fulham nodding sagely, and the rest of us wondering what it's all meant to be about. Does Poliakoff know, or care? Early on it seems to be a weak satire on the 'era of spin' initiated by the New Labour government elected in 1997, which found its apotheosis in the risible Millennium Dome project, style without substance, and plastic style at that. Throw in the 'death of Diana' as a modular dramatic device, again used to illustrate the 'stage management' of our modern political and national life. But there is a problem. If you want to do satire you have to make it bite, particularly in the characterisation of Gideon himself, the spin meister. Bill Nighy, however, seems to wander throughout the production on valium, spending most of him staring out of windows and pondering the meaning of a song sung by his daughter. The satirical element is entirely missing from the second half, which turns into another middle class drama 'leitmotif' - the 'unconventional love story'. Realised in terms of one of those cross-class-cultural divide fantasies beloved of middle class playwrights. Toff Gideon dates a woman who works in an all night supermarket out in West London . Gideon decides to host a PR event at a nondescript Indian Restaurant. 'As if' on both counts. What is perhaps meant to be arresting and unpredictable is just patronising and unrealistic.