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!

25 November 2014 Fiona's Second Film of Choice at The Plaza Dorchester Tonight - My Old Lady. I thought this was going to be a comedy, but in reality the best mildly funny scenes were all included in the trailer. Having said that, this was a very touching film about relationships and dysfunctional families and a very strange set of French Laws. In a nutshell, Mathias Gold, played by Kevin Kline, inherits an apartment in France from his late father. Spending his last dime to travel to Paris he discovers to his dismay that the apartment comes with a tenant Mathilde Girard (Maggie Smith) who is allowed to stay there until her death, and to compound things he has to pay rent to her. Determined to find a way to sell the apartment and make some money Mathias tries everything he can to achieve his goal. As the story progresses we meet Chloe who is Mathilde's daughter and has issues of her own. Although slow in places this charming film winds it's way through the streets of Paris much as the seine flows past Notre Dame and once again having watched a film set in France I find myself wanting to go and visit once again.

I didn't like it much. If they had told me that it's a theatrical piece then I would have been prepared, but thinking that it's a movie... no, definitely it's not the movie I like.

I'm wondering why as the acting is very good and this movie is almost flawless, but... too simple? The Kevin Kline's character, is it not likeable? Too short? Too long? Too much complaining and whining? I don't know, it's hard to say, but in the end I was thinking... which movie I just watched? A comedy, a drama, a "dramedy" perhaps?

Not even in this case I can say something... I just watched a movie that didn't satisfy me, that's it.

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.

Went to see this today based on the trailer, from which I thought it was a comedy. It is funny, but also serious and engaging. Liked it much more than I thought I would and would definitely recommend it. At the end I realized that I would want to watch it again to see the themes of relationship as I then understood them with hindsight. The three principal actors are all excellent in their roles and in their relationships with each other. It felt honest and not pretentious or 'preachy', but definitely deep and engaging.

No one ends up the hero in this film, but that is often how real life often turns out.