Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont

You know the difference between your Mom's home made, hand-made-with-love cookies and the mass produced things in the supermarket? Well Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont is a hand-made-with-love movie.

I can't imagine anyone not being moved by this story of a friendship between and elderly (and still beautiful) lady and a sensitive young man of 26.

For me (not much younger than Mrs Palfrey) this was a double treat as the film contains so many wonderful old actors, people who have been in the business, excelling at their art for decades. It must have been daunting for the younger ones to be on set with all these gems.

Particularly nice to see Georgina Hale, who has the most unusual speech delivery which perfectly comes out as an 'elderly foible' in the movie but is, in fact, the way she talks all the time - wonderful! Dear old Robert Lang died shortly after the movie finished shooting, so it was dedicated to him - a fine tribute for a great actor.

There was just one tiny thing I would have liked - the backstory. It's not until 3/4 way through the movie that we realise why this obviously well-heeled lady (you have to be to afford full board in an hotel in Langham Place!) chose to move to London. Ostensibly it is to be near her grandson but he clearly has no time for her and never did. She's moved from Scotland but would have been better off in a village, a small community, not in the soulless city. So that's a bit of a problem, she simply doesn't have enough reason for such a radical change of scene.

But I'm being picky and the film deserves every plaudit - doesn't need Oscars, leave them for the glitzy trash, this is way, way above Oscar level. This is genius and near perfection.

There has been some criticism that it's too sugary, that a young man would never befriend an old lady but this is ridiculous. Though Taylor's Ludo was not quite as open-hearted as the character played so equisitely by Rupert Friend, I know from personal experience that such friendships are not only possible but frequent.

So, if you want to see some of Britain's real stars, home-made goodies every one, acting with sensitivity, humour and considerable charm, this is the film to see - take someone you love. Take hankies too.

I went into the Paris Theatre in New York last night, more as a refuge from the merciless weather that anything else. What a wonderful and unexpected surprise. Joan Plowright plays a widow who decides to live her last years of her life as an independent woman in a small retirement hotel in London. I'm not sure if she knew that independence sometimes means loneliness but she learns soon enough as loneliness becomes her constant companion. Her only grandson never calls, in fact nobody ever calls her. A fortuitous encounter with a young struggling writer will change her life as she will change his. This beautiful and seemingly simple story is filled with startling gems. Joan Plowright very much at the heart of the piece gives a multi-layered performance that never falls into sentimentality. Rupert Friend (Ludo, the struggling writer) is a perfect foil for the world she protectively stores in her brain and in her heart. The humor and the superb performances by the elderly guests of the hotel is a breath of fresh vintage air. When Ruper Friend meets Dame Joan's friends at the hotel, he exclaims "We're trapped in a Terence Rattigan play" Yes you are, beautifully so

Dan Ireland has created a very touching movie about the dignities and indignities of life intertwined that we all face in varying degrees, and how those occurrences can be changed in a moment. Joan Plowright as Mrs. Palfrey was next to perfect in her role of aging recent widow moved to London and living in a residence hotel in order to get on with the next phase of her life in the most pleasing and dignified ways possible for a woman of her certain age. Most interestingly, Mr. Ireland showed well the odd, standoffish and sterile way the English live and dine in residence hotels, as it was shown to be as entertaining as it was quaint, lonely and sad at times. But, things were soon going to change.............

Mrs Palfrey chanced to meet a handsome but very poor busker who helped her after a fall she had on a sidewalk outside of his spartan flat. Thus blossomed one of the finest film friendships between those of vastly differing ages that I have seen since Harold and Maude. The caring and loving way Rupert Friend's struggling young man character took to Mrs. Palfrey, and was returned by her, was perhaps not something we would not see in a thousand years in real life with most young people today, but its unlikeliness was just the right recipe here for giving both the attention, happiness and improved self worth they both desperately needed at that point in their lives. The entire story was about that blossoming friendship and the rewarding gift it gave to each of them.

Gift yourself and see this film story for a quiet and very high quality perception of aging, life circumstances and the deep value of true friendship, all of which battered down all doors of convention and showed well that true and loving human connections will always be made by differing people having the level of desire and need to do so.

"Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont" is the right vehicle for Joan Plowright in which to shine. As guided by Dan Ireland, this bittersweet novel by Elizabeth Taylor about a genteel world in our time gets a great treatment for the screen by Ruth Sacks.

Mrs. Palfrey is a woman of independent means that decides to spend some time in a London hotel she saw in an advertisement in Scotland. As happens with this sort of thing, the picture in the newspaper was much better than the reality this lady encounters as she settles for her stay at the Claremont. One of the things that made Mrs. Palfrey's mind was the promise of the fine English cuisine something the taxi driver, that is taking her to her new home, finds extremely amusing.

The hotel is home to some older women and men that are retired, but who are nearby to all the attractions that a great city like London has to offer. Since it's such a small place, curiosity and a bit of gossip are found among the people one sees, basically in the dining hall at breakfast, or at dinner.

Mrs. Palfrey meets Ludovic when she falls on the sidewalk in front of his apartment. "Ludo", as he wants to be called, is a busker, a young man that sings in the underground in exchange of the coins passersby throw in his guitar case. Mrs. Palfrey has a grandson, Desmond, who proves to be illusive, at best; so trying to be kind to Ludo, she invites him for dinner at the Claremont and asks him to pretend he is her grandson. This proves to be the beginning of a happy and uncomplicated friendship between a woman at the end of her life and a young man just beginning his.

The main reason for watching the film is Joan Plowright in one of the best roles of her career. Lately, this fine actress has been relegated to playing grandmothers, and assorted ladies in the American cinema, and frankly, she is an actress that clearly deserves better, although not many older roles are written for actresses her age. The film is targeted to a mature audience that identifies with the leading lady of the film.

Rupert Friend makes a good Ludovic and plays well against Ms. Plowright. Zoe Tapper is Gwendolyn, the girl he meets at the video store when they are both reaching for "Brief Encounter", which is Mrs. Palfrey's favorite movie. Anna Massey is splendid as Mrs. Arbuthnot and Millicent Martin is seen in a small role.

The film is a delightful way to spend time at the movies with great company. Thanks to Joan Plowright and Dan Ireland, this is a film the joy it is.

Mrs. Palfrey (Joan Plowright) is an elderly English widow who comes to London to live out her last years at the Claremont Hotel, because she liked the looks of the residential hotel in the adverts. It turns out to be a fairly dreary place (although the public rooms look quite nice, to me, anyway). The other guests are all old people in similar situations. It's kind of depressing, until Mrs. Palfrey takes a tumble in the street and is helped by an attractive young man played by Rupert Friend.

The movie has been referred to as "Separate Tables meets Harold and Maude." Nevertheless a bond develops between Mrs. Palfrey and the young man, whom she passes off as her grandson, because her real grandson never comes to visit.

It's a touching story of connection between two lost souls. I found the busy-bodyness of the other hotel guests overdone, since English people of that generation would not be so forward. Also there is a tendency for everyone to come into a room whenever there's a conflict or outburst, which reminds me of the worst excesses of 1980s American sitcoms. Also, when they do show up, Mrs. Palfrey's daughter and real grandson are simply awful. It's hard to believe that this lovely woman's family would be so vile. But overall, the movie is touching, well acted, and easy to watch.