Featured Audience Ratings

• Jim H

  
  I came for Bill Nighy; I stayed for Emily Blunt. About fifteen minutes into the film, Blunt's character sings a song, "Papa," that captivates everyone - the audience on screen, including her father, and the film's audience (and if anyone in the internet ether can… More
  I came for Bill Nighy; I stayed for Emily Blunt. About fifteen minutes into the film, Blunt's character sings a song, "Papa," that captivates everyone - the audience on screen, including her father, and the film's audience (and if anyone in the internet ether can get me an MP3 of this song, I'd be grateful). The song is stunningly beautiful in its melody, lyrics, and mysteriousness. Even at the end of the film, we're not entirely sure what she meant or even if she meant anything at all, but the memory of that performance propels the film along. It is the story of a British PR man who has lost interest in his work and lost the ability to connect with his daughter, the only person with whom he desires any relationship. The film is essentially a character study, but it rises above a mere presentation of people to an area of profundity that can only be compared to <i>An Accidental Tourist</i>. It becomes about parents and children, the pain of letting go after life and death advance and the stark, unfortunate realization that children will never love their parents as much as parents love their children. With strong, understated performances by Nighy and Miranda Richardson, <i>Gideon's Daughter</i> is a gem not to be missed.

• Ross C

  
  A sentimental British story with some nice Edinburgh scenes, that I find quite beautiful.

• Mark A

  
  Terrific story of loss, obsessive love, letting go, and starting over. Marvelous acting and a great script made this a real slice of life. Miranda Richardson plays Stella, a woman who lost her young son in a tragic accident, and she has never looked more beautiful. She demostrates the… More
  Terrific story of loss, obsessive love, letting go, and starting over. Marvelous acting and a great script made this a real slice of life. Miranda Richardson plays Stella, a woman who lost her young son in a tragic accident, and she has never looked more beautiful. She demostrates the difference between a British actor and an American star. The actor does not hide nor try to reverse the effects of the aging process, while their American counterpart tries to hang on to youth at all costs. She may be older, but her beauty radiates from within. She was totally believable as the woman trying to cope with an unimaginable loss. Bill Nighy, was Gideon, a very successful PR man, sought after by the rich and powerful, who finds himself unexplicably drawn to working-class Stella. Meanwhile, he feels he is losing his daughter, Natasha, played by the gorgeous Emily Blount, as she finishes her A levels (high school) and prepares to move on to the next stage of her life. The struggle between the young woman trying to establish her independence and the father who has already lost his wife and fears losing his daughter as well brought a heightened level of angst into the mix. The only thing that kept this viewer from giving it five stars is the annoying way that the story is narrated by an author to an amanuensis. (Do they use them anymore, really?) The why of that device is explained in the closing frames, but left this viewer unsatisfied. It seems it would have been a stronger tale if told more directly. But, definitely, time well spent.

• Andreia C

  
  loved it! Emily was superb, a well deserved golden globe :)