Martha - Meet Frank, Daniel and Laurence

Rufus Sewell played Frank,

Tom Hollander played Daniel,

Joseph Fiennes played Laurence, and Monica Potter played the titular Martha.

"The Very Thought of You" (also known as Martha meet Frank, Daniel and Laurence) I found Laurence (Joseph Fiennes) pleasant and likeable enough, but as an actor Fiennes is rather too predictably "nice" and, as a result, actually does Rufus a favour by putting the contrasting and much stronger role of Frank in a great light.

I think Rufus is brilliant as Frank and definitely one of his better roles! He is a chain-smoking drunk; he is offensive, obnoxious and probably never has a bath, yet has some inner quality that is crying out for sympathy and which makes you a little concerned about what ultimately happens to him ... the scene after Frank chickens out of an audition is a perfect example. This is exactly the kind of character Rufus can really get a grip on.

While Daniel (the rather cute Tom Hollander) is rich and attractive enough to find love elsewhere, I think Frank deserves some kind of a sequel - I really want to know what happened to the poor bastard after Laurence took off with Martha!

From Ginny, Florida USA

This is one of my favorite Rufus Sewell films. I’m so happy to see him doing comedy again. After seeing the hilarious Cold Comfort Farm I had been looking forward to another chance to see him use his wonderful comedic skills.

The story is simple - three friends since childhood fall for the same girl, Martha, on the same day and we follow their troubles for three days in London.

I had seen Monica Potter in Patch Adams and liked her well enough, but she’s much better in this film - cute, funny - VERY charmingly American.

I saw Tom Hollander on stage in New York last spring in the Judas Kiss and though he was a more sympathetic Bosie that I had ever seen or even imagined, I thought he was good, and quite a contrast alongside the enormous Liam Neeson. He’s excellent as Daniel, the petulant, arrogant, self-absorbed, successful one of the threesome.

I’ve seen Joe Fiennes in Elizabeth, Shakespeare In Love and this film and I think this is his best performance of the three. He is very good as Laurence (or Florence, as Frank and Daniel call him) the rather sweet peacemaker of the three, constantly having to come between the constant bickering and petty jealousies of Frank and Daniel.

Now for Rufus, the “pathetic, spineless drunk” as Frank calls himself when he first meets Martha. This is wonderful stuff! He portrays the petulant, jealous, out-of -work former child actor Frank with enormous skill and humor. Yet one of the most poignant scenes of the film involves Frank’s running out on an audition - nothing funny here, just very sad.

I liked the way the story jumps around, so that for a good deal of the film the audience doesn’t know the sequence of events. This is a very good, very funny film and Rufus is terrific!

MMFDL: a friend of mine from the US, who has a website of Joseph Fiennes informed me about Joe's upcoming project called MMFDL. Well, I like Joe's look and since I didn't know anything about his acting skills, I thought, "why not check it out?" (in case you haven't noticed, I am kind of an intruder on this website, since I'm a Joe Fiennes fan, but hey, this doesn't mean I don't admire Rufus, especially after seeing this one!) So a few weeks later, the movie was released over here in Belgium (it must have been around September 1998). So my friend and I went to see it. We were not prepared for this one. You know, it's one of those movies which simply strikes you out. I wasn't expecting much, just a nice, not too boring movie.

But this one hit me (and my friend). We had such a laugh and it wasn't just us, after the movie, everybody was talking about it and still laughing.

What can I tell you about the movie? Well we all know the story by now, how Monica meets Daniel at the airport, he falls for her. Then she meets Frank, and he also falls for her. And of course then there's Laurence, and of course he also falls for her, but lucky for him, she also falls for him.

I must say, lucky girl!!!! Before MMFDL I had never heard of Tom Hollander, nor Rufus Sewell, but I must say, the English proved again that they are excellent actors. I was really impressed by them. I loved the way the characters are worked out, you know, each person has it's own character, it's own personality.

If I have to choose one scene for each actor which I loved the most, it must be:

* Tom: when they are sitting in the restaurant and he's talking about his problem, that he fell in love with this girl at the airport. I must say, I love the way Rufus always reacts to everything he says and keeps laughing with him.

* Monica: when she's at the help desk at the airport, asking them for help to find Joe.

* Rufus: in the museum, when he's trying to convince Monika that a museum is the perfect place to pick up a partner

* Joe: when he leaves the constructers place and the guy thanks him for confiding in him, especially because there's a psychiatrist living next door. I love the look on his face then.

I think this movies really proves that European movies are very good too, that we also now how to handle things and don't need some big Hollywood hot shot to do it. The way the story is cut up and all the pieces fall together in the end is brilliant. It kept me anxious until the last moment. I think the movie is better then good, it's really excellent. I think it's really "hypocritical" that they first wouldn't release it in the States (as usual, they think over there that we here in Europe can't make good movies), until the actors got more famous. And now they even dare to release it under another name. All I can say is, go and, no run and rent the movie, you won't regret it!

The name did not win any votes. I think that if they used the same name as they did in Australia, then they would have had more profit at the box office. The name just sounded stupid. Has anyone noticed that Miss Selfridges always sponsors the films with the fiennes brothers in them? They did the avengers and martha meets. They also did Romeo and Juliet because Clare Danes was in it and she was meant to be in Schindlers List with Ralph Fiennes. WOW.

I really enjoyed this film, although I must be honest, I only went to see it because the luscious Joseph Fiennes is in it. That's how I became interested in Rufus Sewell - WOW - connections, connections.

The script is so clever. At first you do wonder what the hell is going on but it all seems to tie up in the end. It's like fitting the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.

Joe Fiennes was alright but I think that his voice sounded a bit contrived. I think that he mistook his role as Laurence the whist instructor as Laurence the ham. The man just did not have a clue, but I forgive him. I think he only won Martha in the end because he was the best looking.

Tom Hollander was amazing. I don't know why they chose him perhaps it's because he looks like a spoiled brat. I loved the scene where he couldn't get to sleep because he was feeling a little sexually frustrated after Martha didn't sleep with him. Classic.

Rufus, ah, dear Rufus. He got the rough end of the stick with his part. But I guess that any actor can identify with the unemployment situation. They must of all been gagging for that role. He was quite good. He did a really good job of looking shocked when Martha buggered off in the art gallery. I don't think that he should have got that part though. He looks too fierce to be sympathised with.

Gotta say, Joe Fiennes does it for me. Sorry all Rufus fans, I love him too, but he is nothing on Joe. In conclusion, the film was bloody marvellous (excuse the language - it's the only way I can convey my true feelings). Acting 1st class but they didn't cast them as well as they could have. I would have kept them all except that drip Monica Potter. I would have had someone fiesty in her place. Like Minnie Driver or Lucy Lawless (xena warrior princess person), you know - a top bird.

They only got a few things wrong. 9/10