FIVE DAYS - From the BBC and HBO.

Five Days is a very gripping British drama produced by the BBC in association with HBO.

Leanne Wellings, half of a BM/WW marriage (played by Christine Tremarco) is taking her two young children to visit her grandfather (Edward Woodward, better known for his television series, The Equalizer). She stops to buy flowers about 20 yards from a freeway, but then disappears, leaving her two children waiting in the car, lost and far from home.

The two kids set off to find her – only to go missing themselves.

Their ordeal is captured on police surveillance cameras which leads to a police investigation and, later, a huge news story.

The action unfolds on five important days of the disappearance; days one, three, 28, 33 and 79. Each episode shows a very realistic picture of everyone involved, warts and all: A grieving, tortured husband, Matthew Wellings (played by David Oyelowo), who finds himself not only under suspicion, but pursued by several women hoping to take the place of Leanne and get with the Black hunk.

In fact, everyone involved displays both character virtues and flaws: The brooding detective Barclay, his cynical sergeant, Foster; Leanne's devastated parents, Barbara and John; and the ever present stranger, Sarah, who's drawn into both the investigation and the family.

If you like complexity, temptation, incredible acting and a mysterious thriller that poses more questions than answers with every episode, you have to watch Five Days from beginning to end (if possible, which might be difficult as part 5 is scheduled to run on HBO next week...you may be able to see parts 3 and 4 in America this week or weekend).

Here is an upcoming schedule for those on the East and West Coast. If you're in Britain, it aired in January and early February on BBC One (I don't know if there are any reruns):

EDT - HBO2E

11P-12Midnight (tonight) Part 4
6P-7P (Sat) Part 3
7P-8P (Sat) Part 4
5P-6P (sun) Part 4
8p-9P (Tues) Part 5 - Conclusion

PDT - HB2P

11P-12Midnight (tonight) Part 4
7P-8P (Sat) Part 4
5P-6P (sun) Part 4
10P-11P (sun) Part 4
8p-9P (Tues) Part 5 - Conclusion

http://www.hbo.com/films/fivedays/

 

The schedule I produced is only of the times I could find.

There are likely other times as HBO is airing the drama fairly regularly.

 

:idea: Hey thanks for the headsup on this one. :wink: Going to have to check it out plus maybe get the dvd when it becomes available.

 

NY Times Review: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/02/a...id=HE-S-E-GG-SEM-KP-1046758628-S-NA-five_days

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0840094/

 

Thanks Noble. And, yes, it's worth seeing it in it's entirety.

I'm impressed that you were able to find reviews for it so quickly. I find it fascinating how different parts of the world can give their take on things.

In this movie that's set in Britain, there is recognition that the husband is Black. But, he's treated like any other Briton. Where I live in Pennsylvania and, certainly, in the Bay Area, I'm treated much the same.

In the New York Times article you site, however, they point out the following:

"Matt is black, an ex-Army man who works as a personal trainer at a gym, but race turns out not to really be an issue in this tale. Leanne’s parents, Barbara (Penelope Wilton) and John (Patrick Malahide), trust and respect Matt, and the police officers treat him like any other stricken husband and father who is also a likely suspect."

It's interesting that a New York reporter felt the need to point this out. Could it be a reflection of life in New York that this was an important point to make to it's readership?

Perhaps.

Anyway, enjoy the movie! And thanks for the props.

 

You're welcome & probably so because even in today's "modern" times & especially in certain parts of the US as you know that particular IR fact would still raise some eyebrows more so than in the UK I believe. :roll:

PS :arrow: Hey Bronze did you get a chance to check out my girl Bryce Dallas Howard
this summer in As You Like It on HBO :?: She's was in an IR

in the movie plus she doesn't seem afraid to do IR's in other flicks like Manderlay either. :wink:

 

Bryce Dallas Howard has no problem doing interracial sex scenes that I will give her props.

Too bad she is happliy married to Seth Gabel and has a kid . . . too bad for any black men who thinks her interracial roles cross over in her real life.

 

:arrow: Let me be clear in that I already knew that about her but I still like her because she's not afraid to take those kinds of roles :!: Plus you know what they say about those HOLLYWEIRD marriages... :roll:

 

She's a hottie. And, yes, she does seem extremely comfortable in the company of Black men.

My experience is that, if a White woman has been with a Black man in the past, she's much more comfortable and may even seek out opportunities to be in the company of Black men (consciously or subconciously).

So, it may even lend itself to her work. I'm absolutely positive it helped actress Nastassja Kinski in her love scenes with Wesley Snipes. And, if Heidi Klum and others take a stab at acting, they may have a very easy time as well.

I think I glanced at As You Like It while channel surfing, but did not have the time to see much of it. I'll check it out in the future.


Noble, here is an interesting admission from David Oyelowo, the star of Five Days.

This may be one reason his performance was so realistic:

"I'm married to a lovely white lady and I have two beautiful mixed-race children," says Oyelowo. "So as I read this thing, what hit me was the fact that this could be me! It actually made me quite nervous to keep on reading because it felt very real."

http://www.showbuzz.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/10/01/tv/main3316208.shtml?source=search_story

Interesting to say the least!

 

When I seen Bryce Dallas Howard do an interracial scene I said, "Wow, Ron (Opie) Howard's daughter hooked up with at black man".

Unfortunately, since she has done commerical movies like "Spider-man 3" I wonder if she will go back to doing independent films that feature interracial love?

 

Hey bronze thanks for the follow-up on David Oyelowo :!: I didn't know he's in A RAISIN IN THE SUN or that he was in THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND :!: :shock: But what I'm really ashamed of is that I just realized he's the same guy that was in AS YOU LIKE IT :!: :roll:

I don't know about that because somehow I see her winning an Oscar in the future for one of those small but well acted indie flicks. :wink:

 

Only in the UK can you see BM/WW relationships related in conventional matters instead of racial. British TV is more better than US TV.

 

I agree.

At some point, we may need to request that African-American actors, producers and directors spend a lot more time and effort collaborating with their British cohorts, especially as it relates to movie-making.

The biggest box office draw in the world is Will Smith. Denzel Washington does not fall too far behind. Wesley Snipes has a tremendous following. Terrence Howard is a rising star that will soon command a great audience, etc, etc., their are many other Black male actors of note.

So, at least among Black men, the African-American community has tremendous clout in the world of entertainment. There is little question that British and other international entertainment companies want to partake in the financial fortunes of movie superstars like Director Spike Lee.

Movies like "Five Days" reflect the real lives of Black men as opposed to what Hollywood tries to force down our throats.

If you look at the thread produced by poster "nobledruali" titled David Oyelowo & Family, you quickly realize that the family in his movie is almost identical to his real life family at home!

If our (Black) entertainment community spent less time trying to convince Hollywood to produce pieces like "Five Days" and more time working with a less bigoted world in Western Europe and elsewhere, we will force the entertainment industry everywhere to grow up.

It's tough for Samuel L. Jackson to find a single love scene in Hollywood. However, in his first and only foreign made movie, he immediately gets into a love affair with a White South African woman in the movie In My Country.

In an economy that is becoming more international by the day, it's important for Black people not to let their country dictate their lives, especially as it relates to movies and television.

 

Amen.

 

Bronze Saint don't forget the movie The Caveman's Valentine. He has a love scene there too. Had to admit those two movies are more better than The Long Kiss Goodnight.

 

I have not seen the movie, SoulThinker. But it does point out how dumb Hollywood is when we can only point to a couple of movies throughout his great career in which he's involved romantically.

A few months ago on a talk show in San Francisco, a guest said she met Samuel Jackson on the set of a movie.

So, what did the hot blonde host excitedly ask her guest? "Does Sam kiss you in the movie?!" - with a look that screamed: "I hope so!"

Hollywood is still living in the mid 1970s.