Restoration

Restoration

An ordinary man, an irresistible offer. In a world of seduction and power, temptation has its price.

R 1995 · 117 min · ★ 6.1 · Drama, Romance

An aspiring young physician, Robert Merivel found himself in the service of King Charles II and saves the life of someone close to the King. Merivel joins the King's court and lives the high life provided to someone of his position. Merivel is ordered to marry his King's mistress in order to divert the queens suspicions. He is given one order by the king and that is not to fall in love. The situation worsens when Merivel finds himself in love with his new wife. Eventually, the King finds out and relieves Merivel of his position and wealth. His fall from grace leaves Merivel where he first started. And through his travels and reunions with an old friend, he rediscovers his love for true medicine and what it really means to be a physician.

Directed by Michael Hoffman · Written by Rose Termain

Your Rating

Where to Watch

Rent or Buy

Cast

Robert Downey Jr. Robert Merivel
Meg Ryan Katharine
Sam Neill King Charles II
David Thewlis John Pearce
Hugh Grant Elias Finn
Polly Walker Celia Clemence
Ian McKellen Will Gates
Ian McDiarmid Ambrose
Mary MacLeod Midwife
Willie Ross Man with Visible Heart
Benjamin Whitrow Merivel's Father
Roger Ashton-Griffiths Mr. Bung

Make it a double feature

3h 45m together

Restoration

One Fine Day

Both from Michael Hoffman.

More from Michael HoffmanSee all →

Privileged

Privileged · 1982

A story about a group of Oxford undergraduate acting students and their troubled lives while producing (and competing between themselves for a role in) a different version of the classic play "The Duchess of Malfi". Love, friendship and rivalry are all part of this intricate project, filmed on actual location in the Oxford University, the very first to achieve such feat.

The Best of Me

The Best of Me · 2014

MovieDramaRomance

A pair of former high school sweethearts reunite after many years when they return to visit their small hometown.

The Emperor's Club

The Emperor's Club · 2002

The Emperor's Club

William Hundert is a passionate and principled Classics professor who finds his tightly-controlled world shaken and inexorably altered when a new student, Sedgewick Bell, walks into his classroom. What begins as a fierce battle of wills gives way to a close student-teacher relationship, but results in a life lesson for Hundert that will still haunt him a quarter of a century later.

12 and Holding

12 and Holding · 2006

Three close knit 12-year-olds - introverted Jacob, precocious Malee and vulnerable Leonard - start down the path of self-discovery and begin to distinguish their own voices from those of their parents.

Restless Natives

Restless Natives · 1985

Restless Natives

MovieComedyCrime

Two lads in Edinburgh embark on a non-violent spree of robberies. They dress up in clown masks and act as modern highwaymen, robbing coach loads of tourists in the highlands. In the process they become folk heroes to the locals.

The Second Victory

The Second Victory · 1987

The Second Victory

After the end of Word War II, a lone and elusive skier from the German Mountain Troops continues to kill British Occupation Forces personnel, prompting a joint British-German manhunt operation to capture him.

One Fine Day

One Fine Day · 1996

MovieRomanceComedy

Melanie Parker, an architect and mother of Sammy, and Jack Taylor, a newspaper columnist and father of Maggie, are both divorced. They meet one morning when overwhelmed Jack is left unexpectedly with Maggie and forgets that Melanie was to take her to school. As a result, both children miss their school field trip and are stuck with the parents. The two adults project their negative stereotypes of ex-spouses on each other, but end up needing to rely on each other to watch the children as each must save his job. Humor is added by Sammy's propensity for lodging objects in his nose and Maggie's tendency to wander.

The Last Station

The Last Station · 2009

The Last Station

MovieDramaRomance

A historical drama that illustrates Russian author Leo Tolstoy's struggle to balance fame and wealth with his commitment to a life devoid of material things. The Countess Sofya, wife and muse to Leo Tolstoy, uses every trick of seduction on her husband's loyal disciple, whom she believes was the person responsible for Tolstoy signing a new will that leaves his work and property to the Russian people.

A Midsummer Night's Dream

A Midsummer Night's Dream · 1999

A Midsummer Night's Dream

MovieFantasyComedy

Mistaken identity, unrequited love, and the supernatural are combined in Shakespeare's classic set in the woods of Greece on a moonlit night.

Soapdish

Soapdish · 1991

Celeste Talbert is the star of the long-running soap opera "The Sun Also Sets." With the show's ratings down, Celeste's ruthlessly ambitious co-star, Montana Moorehead, and the show's arrogant producer, David Seton Barnes, plot to aggravate her into leaving the show by bringing back her old flame, Jeffrey Anderson, and hiring her beautiful young niece, Lori Craven.

Black Box

Black Box · 2009

After Emiliano dies from poisoning, a vault in Zürich opens to reveal a video tape of edited fragments from surveillance cameras that captured the most important day in Emiliano's life. That day he learned that what matters most in life are not beginnings or endings, what matters most is one defining moment: his peculiar encounter with Juan when he recruited him to assassinate a former presidencial candidate.

Some Girls

Some Girls · 1988

MovieComedyDrama

While on Christmas break, college student Michael journeys to Quebec City to spend time with his attractive girlfriend, Gabriella. Not long after he arrives, Gabriella breaks up with him, but her two equally gorgeous sisters waste no time showing romantic interest. In the meantime, Michael is left to deal with Gabriella's eccentric grandmother and offbeat father, an academic who spends most of his time naked.

American Classic

American Classic · 2026

American Classic

Exiled Broadway star Richard Bean returns to his family's small-town theater, igniting hope and chaos in his wake. As old loves resurface and buried secrets emerge Richard and the town are transformed by the power of making art.

Taxi

MovieActionComedy

A mouthy and feisty taxicab driver has hot tips for a green and inept cop set on solving a string of New York City bank robberies committed by a quartet of female Brazilian bank robbers.

Gambit

MovieComedyCrime

An art curator decides to seek revenge on his abusive boss by conning him into buying a fake Monet, but his plan requires the help of an eccentric and unpredictable Texas rodeo queen.

Promised Land

Promised Land · 1988

MovieDramaRomance

Three recent high school grads - star athlete Hancock, his cheerleader girlfriend, Mary, and the awkward Senator - aim to leave their small town behind and realize big dreams, but their idealistic plans collide with life's harsh realities.

More Like This

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind · 2004

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

MovieScience FictionDrama

Joel Barish, heartbroken that his girlfriend underwent a procedure to erase him from her memory, decides to do the same. However, as he watches his memories of her fade away, he realises that he still loves her, and may be too late to correct his mistake.

Match Point

Match Point · 2005

MovieDramaRomance

Chris, a former tennis pro, takes a job as an instructor and befriends his wealthy young student, Tom. After being introduced to his family, Chris is soon engaged to Tom's sister, Chloe. Despite the professional and financial advantages that this relationship affords him, Chris becomes obsessed with Tom's fiancee, American actress Nola.

The Science of Sleep

The Science of Sleep · 2006

The Science of Sleep

MovieComedyDrama

A man entranced by his dreams and imagination is lovestruck with a French woman and feels he can show her his world.

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof · 1958

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

An alcoholic ex-football player drinks his days away, having failed to come to terms with his sexuality and his real feelings for his football buddy who died after an ambiguous accident. His wife is crucified by her desperation to make him desire her: but he resists the affections of his wife. His reunion with his father—who is dying of cancer—jogs a host of memories and revelations for both father and son.

Bull Durham

Bull Durham · 1988

MovieComedyRomance

Veteran catcher Crash Davis is brought to the minor league Durham Bulls to help their up and coming pitching prospect, "Nuke" Laloosh. Their relationship gets off to a rocky start and is further complicated when baseball groupie Annie Savoy sets her sights on the two men.

Anatomy of a Murder

Anatomy of a Murder · 1959

Anatomy of a Murder

MovieCrimeDrama

Semi-retired Michigan lawyer Paul Biegler takes the case of Army Lt. Manion, who murdered a local innkeeper after his wife claimed that he raped her. Over the course of an extensive trial, Biegler parries with District Attorney Lodwick and out-of-town prosecutor Claude Dancer to set his client free, but his case rests on the victim's mysterious business partner, who's hiding a dark secret.

Harold and Maude

Harold and Maude · 1971

Harold and Maude

MovieComedyDrama

A deadpan young man obsessed with death meets an eccentric septuagenarian who teaches him to live life to the fullest.

Trouble in Paradise

Trouble in Paradise · 1932

Trouble in Paradise

MovieComedyCrime

Thief Gaston Monescu and pickpocket Lily are partners in crime and love. Working for perfume company executive Mariette Colet, the two crooks decide to combine their criminal talents to rob their employer. Under the alias of Monsieur Laval, Gaston uses his position as Mariette's personal secretary to become closer to her. However, he takes things too far when he actually falls in love with Mariette, and has to choose between her and Lily.

Contempt

Contempt · 1963

MovieDramaRomance

Art film producer Jeremy Prokosch, unhappy with the work of his director, hires Fritz Lang (as himself) to direct an adaptation of The Odyssey, but when it seems that the legendary filmmaker is making a picture destined to bomb, he brings in a screenwriter to energise the script. The professional intersects with the personal when a rift develops between the writer and his wife.

To Catch a Thief

To Catch a Thief · 1955

To Catch a Thief

MovieMysteryRomance

When a string of jewel robberies hits the French Riviera, suspicion falls on retired thief John “The Cat” Robie. To clear his name, he sets out to trap the copycat himself—entangling a wealthy widow and her beguiling daughter in a seductive game of pursuit, deception, and desire.

The Three Musketeers

The Three Musketeers · 1973

The Three Musketeers

MovieActionAdventure

In 17th century France, young D'Artagnan wants to join the King's Musketeers, but instead befriends three legendary musketeers—Athos, Porthos, and Aramis—and together, they become embroiled in the political intrigue surrounding King Louis XIII and his adversaries, particularly the powerful Cardinal Richelieu.

The Trial

The Trial · 1962

MovieCrimeDrama

Arrested for an unnamed crime, Josef K. is trapped in a surreal bureaucratic maze where justice is unknowable and guilt is assumed.

Barry Lyndon

Barry Lyndon · 1975

MovieDramaHistory

An Irish rogue uses his cunning and wit to work his way up the social classes of 18th century England, transforming himself from the humble Redmond Barry into the noble Barry Lyndon.

Far from the Madding Crowd

Far from the Madding Crowd · 1967

Far from the Madding Crowd

MovieDramaHistory

Bathsheba Everdine, a willful, flirtatious, young woman, unexpectedly inherits a large farm and becomes romantically involved with three widely divergent men.

Girl with a Pearl Earring

Girl with a Pearl Earring · 2003

Girl with a Pearl Earring

MovieDramaRomance

This film, adapted from a work of fiction by author Tracy Chevalier, tells a story about the events surrounding the creation of the painting "Girl With A Pearl Earring" by 17th century Dutch master Johannes Vermeer. A young peasant maid working in the house of painter Johannes Vermeer becomes his talented assistant and the model for one of his most famous works.

After the Wedding

After the Wedding · 2006

After the Wedding

A manager of an orphanage in India is sent to Copenhagen, Denmark, where he discovers a life-altering family secret.

Rate this film

Your ratings make Midnight smarter