My Old Lady

My husband and I love Paris, Kevin Kline and Maggie Smith; so a film with all three was a must on our viewing list. However, we came across some pretty bad reviews and wondered whether we should see it at all. The cinema was a small one and, as we decided to go to the early afternoon show, it wasn't very crowded. We were delighted to find the three leading actors lived up to their usual high standard; the story line worked for us right to the end; and the views of Paris as well as the interior of the apartment managed to capture the mood very well. From finding it really quite amusing at first, the film took a rather darker turn two thirds of the way in; but we felt that the way it was handled sent out a very real and necessary message. I presume it could be classed as a black comedy...but this should not put you off from seeing it, and one does not leave feeling it was a waste of time or money!

Were it not for the fact that I had already read reviews, I would have been shocked by this movie, because it was not, in fact, a comedy. That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed the film. It is neither light nor heavy, but rather the perfect balance.

It addressed the fact that there is no 'following your heart' or doing whatever feels right to you, without affecting other people. Mostly, there will be negative consequences/effects, but when you and the people around you open yourselves to truth, no matter how difficult, healing comes and eventually, a positive effect. I highly recommend this movie.

The whole film is shot in Paris and many of the scenes are simply drippingly gorgeous. It is a very charming movie, with some heavy undertones and one I will watch again. There's a good message in it. Loved Dominique Pinon as the real estate agent. Kristin Scott Thomas is so good, mixing up mean and nasty with tenderness and self-awareness. Maggie is a stitch and just superb! Kevin excellently portrays a man who is down and out, carrying around emotional baggage. Stéphane Freiss always seems to play a neurotic Frenchman, but he does frenzied well. Many times I laughed out loud in this movie! I've studied French my whole life, but learned a new word in this movie: viager. I am surprised critics have come down so hard on it. But, I am almost as old as Kevin Kline, I adore Paris, I love movies where you can laugh and still be brought to tears and ones that have a good message.

I thought this was going to be a gentle comedy. Instead it turned out to be a tale of sadness and redemption. I enjoyed that more.

This is a very simple film and because it is brilliantly cast and directed, the result is excellence. Simplicity is something we rarely see these days yet it is something we crave in these very complex times. There are really only three characters in this film and so the casting was paramount. It pretty much goes without saying that Maggie Smith in the lead role is just perfect - as she always is. By coincidence, I re-watched Grand Marigold Hotel the following evening, and saw her playing a totally different person with a totally different voice. That is a skill that few modern actors can manage well. More of a surprise to me was Kevin Kline. I remember him in manic roles - typecast or that's how he is I do not know, but in this film he gave a beautifully measured and emotional performance with only a few glimmers of the manic! Finally Kristin Scott-Thomas was just excellent as she always is. Rarely does an actress gently age so perfectly, and her performance could not have been faulted for a moment - just superb.

Very well lit and photographed in what appeared to be quite confined spaces and with exteriors of Paris that just glowed with it's honey colour there is a visual treat here. And with very well-recorded sound, the film was a joy to watch. If your taste is for quality, quiet and thoughtful, for a well written screenplay based on an excellent story, with excellent actors, then this is a film you will thoroughly enjoy. It will definitely have more appeal to an over 50 or even over 60 audience - younger people will miss out on the subtleness and pathos and not appreciate this film.

The one thing that I simply could not understand was the title of this film. In London-speak, my old lady means my mother! Too late to change now though!

Enjoying a coffee in the café of the cinema, we got talking to an older couple sitting next to us. The man had come especially to see Kristin Scott-Thomas because his granddaughter had been the nanny to one of Kristin's children in Paris. It is a small world.