Film: "Gregory's Two Girls" (1999). Stars John Gordon-Sinclair, Maria Doyle
Kennedy, Carly McKinnon, Dougray Scott (105 mins).
Gregory (Gordon-Sinclair) is back at the same school where the sight of Dee
Hepburn in shorts had given him such a turn almost two decades before.
He's a teacher now, one of those idealistic, liberal sorts who frequently
soap-boxes on the topics of corrupt politicians and the abuse of human rights.
In the classroom, with theory or rhetoric, it's easy to stand your ground. But
what if you're suddenly presented with physical evidence of malpractice and
deliberate law-breaking on a major, industrial scale?
What if this information comes your way via a young female pupil whose energy
and enthusiasm you can't help but admire?
And what if calling in the authorities on the wrong-doers - a local factory
acting decidedly beyond its remit - is a decision suddenly muddied by a
personal, emotional dilemma that threatens to obscure the course of action
that's morally correct?
If all this sounds a little serious, it's simply the narrative framework
enabling the pertinent characters to interact.
Perhaps a little more contrived than the charming simplicity of the original
premise, it nevertheless is targeted for the duplicate purpose of landing
Gregory in a confusing situation.
On either side of Gordon-Sinclair's amiable and thoughtfully updated
performance, Maria Doyle Kennedy ("The Commitments") and 16-year-old Scottish
actress Carly McKinnon are well cast, posing an understandable problem for our
hapless hero.
 |
 BOARD |
