Film Review: The Lady in the Van (M15+) (UK, 2015)

Charming, funny, poignant and so very British, The Lady in the Van is a wonderfully entertaining true story (of sorts) anchored by an unrelenting performance from Maggie Smith. Based on the memoir by playwright Alan Bennett, this quirky comedy soars when Smith’s titular lady is at her most cantankerous and the unlikely relationship Bennett shared with her is quietly explored.

In 1970’s London, in the gentrifying neighbourhood of Camden, Mary Shepherd (Smith) is known all throughout the suburb due to her lack of personal hygiene and vehicular residency. As she rolls through the streets looking to set-up a temporary stop outside various Camden residences, it’s the driveway of the unassuming Bennett (played with a beautiful sense of understatement by Alex Jennings) that she settles on for an indefinite period of time; it ultimately became a 15-year stay.  Though the story itself is quite simple, director Nicholas Hytner has richly rewarded the audience with a colourful selection of characters that are only mildly satirical takes on the upper-middle class citizens of Camden.  They shudder at the thought of Mary but are happy enough to extend her a helping hand or cooked meal all the same, even if her acceptance or rejection of these acts of charity is defiantly without grace.

In addition to the neighbourhood, the film teases the background of Mary herself. Who is Jim Broadbent‘s seemingly sinister late night visitor? Who lives in the house with the blue door? What relationship does she have with the church? And how important is music, specifically the piano, to her life? These are all intriguing nuggets dropped delicately throughout that culminate in a natural reveal that refreshingly refrains from being anything majorly scandalous.   It’s an unusual film but remarkably straight-forward all the same.

Through the film’s clever presentation of Bennett as two characters – one embodying the personality of Bennett the writer, the other his physical self – and Smith’s beautifully complex performance, The Lady in the Van is a minimalistic treat that wins you over at every turn.

Score: THREE AND A HALF STARS (OUT OF FIVE)

The Lady in the Van is out in cinemas today.

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Peter Gray

Film critic with a penchant for Dwayne Johnson, Jason Momoa, Michelle Pfeiffer and horror movies, harbouring the desire to be a face of entertainment news.