Mrs Palfrey at The Claremont (2005)
All but abandoned by her family in a London retirement hotel, an elderly woman strikes up a curious friendship with a young writer.
- Dan Ireland
- Rod Smith
- Martin Donovan
- Ruth Sacks
- Dan Ireland
- Elizabeth Taylor
Rating: 6.7/10 by 36 users
Alternative Title:
Claremont Hotel - JP
Una dama digna - AR
Country:
United Kingdom
Language:
English
Runtime: 01 hour 48 minutes
Budget: $750,000
Revenue: $1,720,953
Plot Keyword: friendship, poetry, memory, old age
This reminded me a little of "Mrs. Caldicot's Cabbage War" (2002) as it depicts the determination of an older person not to just let their toes curl up whilst waiting for God. The recently widowed eponymous lady (Dame Joan Plowright) arrives at the residential "Claremont" hotel and is introduced to quite an eclectic clientele who are all in a similar boat. She's is walking back from the post office when she takes a tumble outside the flat of the floppy haired young "Ludo" (Rupert Friend). He takes care of her, gives her a cup of tea and that's the start of the friendship that livens up both of their lives with some gentle mischief and a growing inter-dependency that reinvigorates her and helps him to get back to his writing. Robert Lang, Anna Massey and an on-form Marcia Warren provide extra richness as her fellow inmates, and the gentle humour and very less-is-more stye of delivery from Dame Joan works well with the engaging effort from her young Friend. Was she abandoned by her family or did she abandon them? It's quite a touchingly written character study and though maybe fifteen minutes too long, is still worth a watch to see some true professionals at work.
