There were five particularly good films released during the first half of 2007 that included strong performances from actors who are not yet popular with mainstream American audiences. However, most of them have already established their reputations in world cinema, and just about to start fascinating filmgoers in the U.S. But don’t expect these actors to play Fantastic Four-type characters or don a red cape any time soon!

We’re talking about one of France’s top leading man, Romain Duris in Molieré, the rising French star Malik Zidi in Poison Friends, the underrated Jonny Lee Miller in The Flying Scotsman and the next great Scottish actor, James McAvoy.

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France’s Best Actor Excels in Molieré: After the intelligent and haunting The Beat that My Heart Skipped and the charm of the Spanish Apartment series, Romain Duris took on a period film portraying one of France’s most important historical figure, the playwright Jean Baptiste Poquelin also known as Moliere. Similar in theme to Becoming Jane, but boasting more substance and delight, Molieré is the “re-imagination of the life and times of one of the great writers of France.”

It is mid-seventeenth century Paris and Molière is a long way from realizing his legacy as the father and true master of comic satire. His release from prison, we discover, is funded by the wealthy Monsieur Jourdain, who gifts Molière with his freedom in return for tutoring. Jourdain is a buffoon and enlists Molière to help him win the affection of a French countess through a series of love letters. At the same time, the young Molière is entwined in a secret love affair with Jourdain's wife and if that's not complicated enough, he is also trying to stop Jourdain's daughter from eloping with her secret boyfriend. Molière's experiences as a lover and a teacher help him mature from a young adult to a man who becomes recognized as one of the greatest dramatists ever born.

If the role of Molieré had been given to anyone other than Duris, it would not have been so effective. Duris has once again proved that he has what it takes to bring a character to life on screen with ingenuity and charm. He is simply brilliant.

Celluloid’s answer to Donna Tart’s The Secret History (well, almost!): Emmanuel Bourdieu ‘s "Poison Friends" ("Les Amitiés Maléfiques") is almost like revisiting the 1992 debut novel of Donna Tart entitled The Secret History. While the book dwells on the psychological and moral dilemma of murder in a college setting, the film Poison Friends tells the story of four young French-lit students “who formed a weird bond, with one of them assuming an emotionally and intellectually dictatorial leadership position.”

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The film premiered in Cannes in 2006, and went on to win three awards, including the Critics' Week Grand Prize. Three of the four young actors who played students were particularly good, and one of them is exceptional - Malik Zidi.

Zidi, who plays the lead, has excelled in a number of supporting roles including one in Laurent Boutonnat’s Jacquo Le Croquant, which stars the more high-profile Gaspard Ulliel. Zidi has been nominated three times for a César Award as "Most Promising Actor" and won the award for this film.

Miller Takes Cycling to the Next Level: If you find the current state of the sport of cycling scandalous and deplorable, The Flying Scotsman will remind you of its better days. Set in a time when cheating and doping were unheard of, The Flying Scotsman is a small indie production that delivers more than satisfying results.

“As an actor, it's a great part. It's got all these different things. Then the story is an incredible story, one which most people aren't aware of. I thought it was a great story to tell,” says Jonny Lee Miller.

Miller stars as Scottish champion cyclist Graeme Obree, who broke the world one-hour record on a bike of his own revolutionary design, which he constructed out of scrap metal and parts of a washing machine. Suffering from manic depression, Obree’s pursuit of the world speed record is enmeshed with his personal struggles.

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If you watched Danny Boyle’s Trainspotting, you will note that of its three stars (Robert Carlyle, Ewan McGregor and Jonny Lee-Miller), Miller maintained the lowest profile. While McGregor and Carlyle went on to star in a number of high-profile films, Miller went on to work in smaller, indie-type productions. After Byron and The Escapist, The Flying Scotsman is perhaps Miller’s biggest film to date, and while the film has its flaws and shortcomings, the actor is dead on in his portrayal of the famous cyclist.

2007 is James McAvoy’s year: After a much praised appearance in The Chronicles of Narnia, Scottish actor James McAvoy made three notable films in 2007. While being shown in the UK and elsewhere in Europe earlier in the year, two of these films (Becoming Jane and Starter for 10) suffered disappointing box office results. But the most recent of these three, Atonement, is currently getting rave reviews and is being seen as a possible contender for Best Picture.

James McAvoy was incredibly funny in Starter for 10. He starred as Brian, a working class student from Essex navigating his first year at Bristol University with a ragtag group of new friends. Brian's life-long dream is to join the team for the British quiz show University Challenge.

Says the BBC:

It was based on a best-selling novel, starred the affable James McAvoy and it got great reviews commending its "quick-fire wit and uncompromising sense of Britishness" - so why was coming-of-age comedy Starter For Ten a dud at the box office? You may not confer on your answer. We can only assume that it was a combination of bad marketing, bad 80s hair and Borat.

While Starter was McAvoy’s turn to go comedy, Becoming Jane was his chance to star in a period film and work alongside Anne Hathaway.

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Becoming Jane is based on some historical investigative work that somehow suggests that Jane Austen (Anne Hathaway) fell in love with a man named Tom Defroy (James McAvoy). This romance is regarded as her inspiration in the writing of her bestselling novels. As Tom Defroy, McAvoy is both fascinating and charming. Their early encounters are filled with heated discussions and dislike for each other. We are reminded of the initial meetings of the principal characters in Pride and Prejudice - Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy. While the film will never be a classic, it’s the chemistry between Hathaway and McAvoy that makes it a charming film nonetheless.

We’ll have more of Atonement, Keira Knightley and McAvoy in the last installment of this series.

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If you've missed part 1, see the article [ here ]

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