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Painted Lady (TV series)

For other uses, see Painted Lady (disambiguation).

Painted Lady
GenreDrama, murder mystery
Written byAlan Cubitt
Directed byJulian Jarrold
StarringHelen Mirren
Karl Geary
Iain Glen
Franco Nero
Michael Maloney
Lesley Manville
Iain Cuthbertson
Barry Barnes
Michael Liebmann
John Kavanagh
ComposerPeter Salem
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes2
Production
Executive producersGub Neal
Rebecca Eaton
ProducerEmma Burge
Production locationsDublin, Ireland
Running time101 minutes (including adverts)
Production companyWGBH Boston in association with Granada Television
Original release
NetworkITV (UK)
PBS (U.S.)
Release7 December (1997-12-07) –
8 December 1997 (1997-12-08)

Painted Lady is a 1997 murder mystery drama starring Helen Mirren, involving art theft. It co-starred Franco Nero, Karl Geary and Iain Glen, and was directed by Julian Jarrold.

The role was created specifically for Mirren, as a means for her to try something a bit different from her Inspector Tennison character on the popular Prime Suspect series. The series was a collaborative effort of Granada Television and PBS. It was broadcast on ITV from 7 to 8 December 1997 in the UK and in the US on PBS's Masterpiece Theatre 26 April 1998.

Plot summary

Maggie Sheridan, a washed-up blues vocalist from the 1960s who had long since stopped performing, had settled into a comfortable life on the Dublin estate of Sir Charles Stafford, the father of her childhood friend. When Sir Charles is murdered in what appears to be a bungled robbery (in which a valuable sixteenth-century painting is stolen), Maggie is drawn into the world of illegal art trade to solve the mystery and avenge her friend's murder, donning the persona of Polish Countess Magdelena Kreschinskaá.

The story centres around Judith Beheading Holofernes, the masterwork of Artemisia Gentileschi, who was a 17th-century female Italian painter who survived a rape. The painting fictionally travels to Dublin and New York City, and Gentileschi's tragic story eventually figures into the plot. There are other visual references to notable paintings in the film.

Cast

Paintings featured:

  • Judith Beheading Holofernes by Artemisia Gentileschi
    Judith Beheading Holofernes by Artemisia Gentileschi
  • The Death of Marat by Jacques-Louis David, imitated in bathtub scene
    The Death of Marat by Jacques-Louis David, imitated in bathtub scene
  • Martyrdom of St. Sebastian by Giovanni Bassi (and many others), alluded in death scene
    Martyrdom of St. Sebastian by Giovanni Bassi (and many others), alluded in death scene

References

  • John Leonard (27 April 1998). "In Brief: Painted Lady". New York Magazine. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
  • John Carman (26 April 1998). "Painted Lady Thriller Crowds An Already Bursting Sunday". South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
  • David Mermelstein (27 April 1998). "Review: Painted Lady". Variety. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
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