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Rumpled, amiable Colin Firth plays a rumpled, amiable English teacher named Paul. He's also an obsessive football (soccer to us Americans) fan who's been avidly following the Arsenal team for 18 years. When he falls into a relationship with a new teacher named Sarah (played by Ruth Gemmel), his deep attachment to Arsenal proves an obstacle. This sounds like some cheap men-and-women-don't-understand-each-othersetup, but instead Fever Pitch not only explores the origins of Paul's football fandom, it actually communicates an infectious sense of what that kind of sports enthusiasm can mean, how it can provide an almost tribal identity. Even better, the movie takes this devotion seriously without ever losing sight of how it can be completely ridiculous at the same time, resulting in some amazing, funny scenes. Gemmel is charming, and Firth is simply superb. He's a great actor who's never quite fit into conventional leading man roles and so tends to play oddballs and redeemable villains, as in Shakespeare in Love, The English Patient, and Apartment Zero. He's a perfect fit for this script, written by Nick Hornby (author of High Fidelity and About a Boy) from his novel of the same name. The humor of this movie is all the more engaging because it's grounded in richly developed characters and emotions. Fever Pitch is excellent. Also featuring a hilarious cameo by Stephen Rea (The Crying Game, Guinevere). --Bret Fetzer ... Read more

Reviews (40)

Thoroughly Stupid
I found this movie very disappointing, considering the talent involved. Either it's one of Hornby's lesser books or the screenplay completely messes it up. The characters are all ridiculous. Ruth Gemmel as Sarah is thoroughly obnoxious and completely imbecilic. She's uptight ninety percent of the time, but invites Paul (Colin Firth) to sleep with her the first time she has him over, and this is only a week or so after she first meets him and hates him. Meanwhile, poor Paul is obsessed with Arsenal--a bit too much, admittedly, but Sarah acts like he's committing murder every time he goes to a game. There is no chemistry between the leads, I don't believe they'd last two weeks as a couple, let alone six months or whatever it's supposed to be. The pacing's all over the place, the best friends are irritating (hers more than his). How is she expecting to pay that cab driver when she's wearing a pocketless dress and has no purse? Why doesn't she just leave him alone? Really, it's a waste of time. See Bridget Jones' Diary again, or Pride and Prejudice if you need your Colin Firth fix, or wait a year or so for all his post-Bridget success films to come out. Avoid this like the plague. There are many great British romantic comedies, so don't waste your time on this one.

Here's a case where the film beats the book
As a Nick Hornby fan, I read "Fever Pitch" and found it to be very masculine. It was organized much like the sports page--match by match, sort of a statistical chronicle of Arsenal over several decades. The film, on the other hand, centers on the personal life of the football fanatic (closely based on Nick Hornby himself) and provides much more balance and intrigue.

The match-up of the serious, somewhat humorless female English teacher and the passionate-about-football but about little else male English teach is enticing. She wants to learn to loosen up and connect with her students and their parents the way she perceives he does, and he wants to be with someone attractive with backbone and spark. As played by Ruth Gemmell and Colin Firth, you see why these opposites attract and you also see why they conflict.

Despite the provocative cover, I don't see why this film is rated R. Language, maybe, and adult ideas? The sex is tame and modest, although there is an out-of-wedlock pregnancy. Still, I think this would be as good a film for the teenage sports fan as it is for adults. How passions conflict (in this case, between love and sports fanaticism) and how compromises and resolutions can be made is a worthy topic to address and is well answered in this film.

The horrible life of being a soccer fan
This excellent movie is based on the book with the same title by Nick Hornby, who also wrote 'High Fidelity' and 'About a Boy'. Thanksfully he has written the screenplay too.

I am an Arsenal fan but cannot fully understand what this team can do to fans. Arsenal had not won a league championship since 1971 and we follow Collin Firth as a fan in the 1989 season in which many things happen in his life. His life goes like the season, up and down and with a tremendous climax.

For soccer fans this movie is great, for Americans it might give some insight into the mad people that follow this beautiful game around the world. Don't worry, there are now standing tickets anymore, it's all seats now.

For Red Sox and Cubs fans it might look a little like their own lives, constantly being dissapointed and loving and hating your team at the same time. But like in Fever Pitch, dreams may come true some day

Reply to writer from San Marco, CA
Arsenal's home jersey's are red, but their away jersey's are yellow. Travelling fans will often wear their home jersey's when following their team on the road, but the team will naturally be wearing their away jerseys. This is consistent for all teams across Europe - different colour home and away kits.

Football is Just A Game, Honest
You truly have to appreciate that some people are obsessed with the beautiful game and some,well aren't. I love this film because Nick Hornby really knows how to get under the skin of the argument,in this case is football more important than life?Seriously ,this film manages to discuss whhat matters to some people in life ,how they have a focus which their other half can not relate to.Highbury was when I first fell in love over 13 years ago but my husband thinks I am insane. If you love sport, if its your life yet for someone special it's all very tiresome ,you will get it , if not do not bother. ... Read more

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Based on the beloved autobiographical novel by Elspeth Huxley, BBC miniseries The Flame Trees of Thika brings an eventful childhood in Eastern Africa to vivid life. In 1913, 11-year-old Elspeth Grant (Holly Aird) traveled with her mother, Tilly (Hayley Mills), from England to Kenya to help build a coffee plantation. (Born in 1907, Huxley was actually six at the time.) Her father, Robin (David Robb), who had preceded them, was waiting to greet his family in the arid town of Thika. Also waiting for them were lions, elephants, giraffes, and countless other creatures (the 18-week production was filmed on location in Kenya).

Directed by Roy Ward Baker (A Night To Remember) and written by John Hawkesworth (Upstairs, Downstairs), The Flame Trees of Thika isn't just about one girl, or one family, adrift in an occasionally hostile foreign land, but also about the dangers of colonialism. The Grants, their neighbors, the Palmers (Nicholas Jones and Sharon Maughan), and most of the other Europeans in Thika feel certain they're bringing culture to the uncivilized, without realizing what they're destroying in the process. Ian Crawford (Ben Cross from Chariots of Fire), is one possible exception to the rule, but he brings another kind of danger in his pursuit of Mrs. Palmer.

Since their actions are seen through the eyes of a child, The Flame Trees of Thika is never preachy, but the meddling of these adults--however well intentioned--in the affairs of the Masai, the Kikuyu, and other locals frequently creates tension. As Tilly notes, "It's like two whole separate circles revolving around each other--their world and ours--and only just touching occasionally." What began as Elspeth's coming-of-age story, becomes one for her parents, as well, in this sensitive and engaging series. --Kathleen C. Fennessy ... Read more

Reviews (81)

Best movie you didn't see this year
This was the best movie of 2002 that absolutely nobody saw. (There were better movies, but they all found their audiences.) The movie follows two stories -- the 19th-century romance between writers Randolph Henry Ashe (Jeremy Northam, "Gosford Park") and Christabel LaMotte (Jennifer Ehle, "Wilde") and the modern-day story of two researchers (Aaron Eckhart, "Erin Brockovich," and Gwynneth Paltrow, "Shakespeare in Love") who are trying to find the truth about them.

The two love stories are both really strong and have strange parallels, but are never presented in a confusing or inaccessible manner. Director Neil LaBute (Nurse Betty) told a very hard story in a very powerful way. Eckhart redeems his turn in the pathetically overrated "Erin Brockovich" and Paltrow yet again plays a Brit so convincingly you figure she's never coming back to America. Oh well -- at least she's good at it.

Passion inspires passion!
The film has some superficial similarity to The French Leutenant's Woman. Both films are based on novels about 2 love affairs separated by a century. But that is where the similarity ends. Possession is a love relationship that develops between an American grad student (Roland Michell) and an English Woman (Maud Bailey) who already has her Ph.D. She is drawn into a research project by the young American to uncover a secret love affair between a famous poet (Randolph Henry Ash) and a poetess (Christabel LaMotte) who was related to Maud Bailey. Like her she was, for her time an independent woman. Unlike her she was living in a lesbian relationship. The poet,Randolph Henry Ash, was married, but the marriage was childless. As the two researchers conduct their secret reconstruction of the affair from secret lost-- until now -- love letters, the British woman (Paltrow) and the American student begin to fall in love. Gwyneth Paltrow and Aaron Eckhart play their parts well and are quite believable even if Gwyneth's English accent is a little over done. Jeremy Northam is excellent as always as Ash. And Jennifer Ehle (Pride and Prejudice) was outstanding as Christabel LaMotte. This is not the typical Hollywood love story. Lesbians might be offended as well as the feminists who might think this is some kind of ... against the independence of women. Only women can have children and to point that out might be thought politically incorrect. The thoughtful folk will ignore this nonsense and just enjoy a good story in a film with superb performances.

huh?
I give this one 2 stars for the period sequences. I found the actors in these scenes were very good..much better than the scenes starring Ms. Paltrow and her companion. I got bored with this movie very fast. The only thing that kept my attention was the story behind the story. I really wanted to love this movie.

This was an excellent movie!
Gwyneth Paltrow played the part of a British ice queen to perfection. Aaron Eckhardt was pretty decent as a brash American. And Jeremy Northam was, as usual, sultry, sexy, and incredibly effective in this (sort of)period piece. I found the woman who played Cristabel to be a little wrong for the part, but she was okay.

The first 3/4 of the movie was good, but the ending is what cinched it for me. I bawled my eyes out and walked away affected.

I do think it could have been a more passionate film. I think the passion was displayed between Ash and Cristabel adequately, but the filmmaker never let the sparks fly with Roland and Maude.

I recommend this to anyone who enjoys films about romance and English history.

worth seeing for the acting
this is a really good movie made by one of my favorite directors. i don't know why some people don't like this movie. it has good acting, good directing, and very good cinematography. watch asap. ... Read more

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Fine Quality Film Enhances Classic Tales
If you entertain children, you'll love this wonderful alternative to "Everything Disney" or "Killer Robots" videos that make up so much of kids viewing fare. This film intersperses live action vignettes of Beatrix Potter's creative process with animation of her famous stories in a very entertaining way. The animation is so well done that I find the distinction between it and the live action blurred in my perception. Our 5-year-old and 3-year-old rough and tumble boys love it and request it again and again. I find the peaceful, woodland village milieu of the stories and the backstory so enchanting that I usually stop what I'm doing and watch with them. This will be a great addition to your DVD library. It will leave you wanting more. ... Read more

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Classic Adventures Kids Love!
I bought this collection to put in an Easter basket for my four-year-old and she absolutely loved it. She was familiar with The Tale of Peter Rabbit from bedtime stories, but this DVD set brought the stories alive in a wonderful way. The quality is impeccable, from the stunning watercolor animations to the haunting Celtic music used throughout the stories. I loved the inclusion of the lesser known Beatrix Potter tales such as the The Tale of Two Bad Mice (my daughter's favorite) and The Tailor of Gloucester (said to be Beatrix Potter's favorite). My daughter has all but abandoned her Barney and other videos and her enthusiasm has prompted me to purchase Volume 2 so we can enjoy even more.

As a Language Arts teacher, I love that the DVD is remarkably true to the original stories and also uses live-action segments to depict Beatrix Potter as she wrote and illustrated these wonderful stories through her letters to children she knew. They certainly have sparked my daughter's interest in reading more stories. How many videos do that?! These videos are a must have for every DVD family collection. ... Read more

Amazon.com

The claustrophobic British crime thriller gets a twist of international conspiracy in Julian Simpson's The Criminal. Steven Mackintosh is Jasper Rawlins, the innocent whose one-night stand thrusts him headfirst into a nightmarish murder mystery where he's the patsy. Hounded by a relentless dinosaur of a detective (Bernard Hill) and shadowed at every step by a gang of crooks, Rawlins plunges into the urban underworld to clear his name and succeeds only in tightening the noose around his neck. One of the more ingenious films to sprout up in a crop of British gangster films at the turn of thecentury, this paranoid thriller has a cynical, sharp style. Think North by Northwest updated to the modern world of free-market espionage and set in a gloomy world of moral twilight. The cleverness seems contrived at times, but Simpson's style and attitude never falter. --Sean Axmaker ... Read more

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A Baby Seal Brings People Together
A warm, inviting story presented in a super interactive DVD. The menu items give additional information that is useful for discussion. Wonderful camera work, breathtaking scenes. "A great experience for the whole family to see and share experiences." The children watched it attentively, and were interested in DVD features. "The index made it easy to find your place." "It has good color and sound. It made everything look real." "I liked it when the seal was 'singing' with the women." Best for ages 8 to 12. ... Read more