Century (1994)

Written and Directed by Stephen Poliakoff.

Century is the second film that Poliakoff made with a young Clive Owen following the success of Close My Eyes. A period story, set in the last moments of the nineteenth Century and the first of the twentieth, it traces the story of a young doctor coming to London to begin a career in medical research. Paul Reisner (Clive Owen) begins to suspect that the work being carried out by his mentor and teacher Professor Mandry (Charles Dance) is taking an increasingly dark turn. The film sets out to portray the past in a different way to most British period films, celebrating the remarkable advances in science and technology at the beginning of the twentieth century but also foreshadowing the sinister direction that this was to take. 
Both Clive Owen and Charles Dance give very powerful performances. They are supported by Miranda Richardson who plays the feisty laboratory assistant who Paul falls in love with. Joan Hickson (known for Miss Marple) gives her last screen performance in this film and Robert Stephens is vividly funny as Paul’s eccentric father. The film also features Lena Headey in one of her first roles as Paul's sister.