Lost for Words

I watched this movie in a covered Drama class and by the end it had me in tears. Although my parents are still middle aged and thankfully very healthy, I have a grandma who is in a similar position to Dame Thora Hirds character (Who played her role brilliantly and is definitely the best character actress I've ever seen.) Luckily she has the support of her Husband and Son as well as all her many Grandchildren, of which I am proud to be one. My grandma suffered a stroke last year, like Mrs Longden did, and, thankfully, she is still alive and well. I found this movie really helpful in understanding the thoughts of an ageing woman like her, more than all the complicated books on strokes. Amazing film

This is a very "British" movie in that everything is understated. Thoroughly enjoyable. High praise for Dame Thora Hird and Pete Postlethwaite. I recommend the movie and especially for anyone with aging parents.

This successfully treads a fine line dealing with the last days of a wonderful, slightly eccentric Mother (Dame Thora Hird)and her loving middle aged son (Pete Postlethwaite). The film has has a lighter, more playful tone than that premise would suggest.

It's not that the film looks away from the sadness of death. It can be tough to watch this life- filled older woman slowly deteriorate through a series of strokes. But it's clear what she will leave behind are a lot of loving memories of her quirky, feisty and funny self.

Occasionally the film does tip over into over-sentimentality, and on the other extreme, some of the running comic bits, especially by some underwritten supporting characters get milked way too long.

But in the end, this is a 2 actor show, and Hird and Postlethwaite create a couple of wonderful and memorable characters dealing tackling difficult issues with love and a laugh along with the tears,

I very highly recommend this tale of an aging parent's last days. This sweet, touching story accurately depicts a succession of strokes and partial recoveries -- complete with physical, emotional, and mental struggles that frustrate and frighten not only the elderly patient but her middle-aged son. The performances are brilliant and sincere. The staging and pace/editing perfect. You may want to keep a hankie nearby.

Deric Longden is one of those authors who wriggles into one's psyche and stays there, so when one of his works gets made into a film or TV play, you feel as though you have a vested interest in it. This has been done very well - I have the VHS version of it, as being in New Zealand we seem to have missed it on TV -with actors of the highest calibre possible. Thora Hird was golden in anything that she did, and her comedic timing was impeccable. Pete Postlethwaite plays the straight man (as it were) because all the best lines are hers. That's not to undermine his work in any sense. He is faultless. There is a strong sense of reality throughout this piece, so that the viewer does not feel that they are watching a play, but simply observing someone's life through an open window. Excellent.