The Very Thought of You

Director: Nick Hamm
Alternate Title: Martha, Meet Frank, Daniel and Laurence

When I lived in my beloved Minnesota, I dreamed of visiting foreign locales but being practical, unlike Martha (Monica Potter) in Nick Hamm’s The Very Thought of You, I never longed to impulsively escape a ho-hum existence by grabbing the first flight out of Minneapolis for $99 and heading to England with just $35 to my name. Of course, had I, like risk-taking Martha been pursued by not one but three dashing Brits, I may have decided to be a bit more daring. Daniel, the first man Martha meets is the type of guy who makes grand romantic gestures only seen in films like anonymously-- under the guise of it being sheer luck-- buying the beguiling blonde he’s never met (with a Julia Roberts smile to boot) an upgraded airline ticket on his plane when he learns her destination in the hopes of getting to know her, only to realize that despite her free-spirited nature, she’s no fool and quickly sells her new “prize” ticket for the cash. Taking a hit to both the ego and heart, Daniel leaves first class and goes back to sit with Martha in coach for the long flight and while they manage to become acquainted and the sparks only seem to fly on his side, once her feet hit London soil, Martha also manages to meet-cute with Daniel’s two best friends, Frank (The Illusionist’s Rufus Sewell), a bitter out-of-work actor and Laurence (Shakespeare in Love’s Joseph Fiennes), a sensitive soul whom we soon suspect may be Martha’s Mr. Right. While of course, logic is thrown right out the window when we are faced with the proposition that one American tourist would stumble on all three buddies in a city as large and bustling as London, England but like old comedies of the 30’s and 40’s, The Very Thought of You works—despite the unlikelihood of plot and characters—due to the strength of the charms of the young, attractive cast, especially Potter (Along Came a Spider, Patch Adams) and the equally adorable Joseph Fiennes. Although sure to be forgotten on DVD shelves or overlooked on premium cable channels despite some of the high profile stars (including character actor Ray Winstone as Fiennes’ neighbor), the film may be of particular interest to fans of its writer Peter Morgan who’s the only screenwriter in history to have two different scripts for The Queen and The Last King of Scotland respectively garner stars Helen Mirren and Forest Whitaker the Best Actress and Actor Academy Awards in the same year. While a far cry from his historical scripts, The Very Thought of You is amiable romantic fare from Miramax—the studio that in the 90’s brought us a plethora of irresistibly comedic British love stories such as Sliding Doors and Four Weddings and a Funeral.

Sexy Beast

There’s an old line in life that death comes in threes… comedy that uses repetition comes in threes as well. In Sexy Beast, the arrival of Ben Kingsely’s terrifying Don Logan is given plenty of set-ups in the early moments of the film. There’s environmental symbolism as a wealthy retired gangster suntans near his large pool in Spain. Suddenly a huge boulder comes tumbling down the hill and crashes into the water. As if that doesn’t provide enough of a warning that an outside villain will interfere in his retirement, next while cooking on the grill sparks and high flames appear and the following day, while hunting, mechanical gun mishaps abound. Once Kingsley’s character—the hyper, foul-mouthed, frightening Don Logan arrives, there’s no more need for warning. Evil has hit the idyllic life his old fellow crooks and their trophy wives share.

The film itself is uneven and a bit of a mess—it has a wonderfully odd sense of humor that one notices right away during the opening credits but it’s Kingsley’s movie all the same and the rants of his character are both shocking and hilarious at the same time. Anything starring the man who played Ghandi and named Sexy Beast you know is not taking itself too seriously and Kingsley looks as though he’s having a blast in a role he told press he modeled after his grandmother (I sincerely hope this is false). His portrayal of Don Logan has been listed on several top 100-film lists for the best villain and/or best performance by an actor in recent years, although sadly the film isn’t a match for his devious charms. Fans of classic noirs will recall Richard Widmark gleefully pushing an elderly wheelchair bound woman down the stairs in Kiss of Death—something tells me that Kingsley may have studied the film prior to filming. Or, in a parallel universe where movie characters live, Widmark’s villain and Kingsley’s Logan would have been fast friends… to quote The Breakfast Club, the two “should get together and go bowling.”