MY OLD LADY
****
Director: Israel Horovitz
Screenwriter: Israel Horovitz adapted from his play My Old Lady
Principal cast:
Kevin Kline
Maggie Smith
Kristin Scott Thomas
Dominique Pinon
Michael Burstin
Sophie Touitou
Country: UK/France/USA
Classification: M
Runtime: 107 mins.
Australian release date: 13 November 2014.
US playwright Israel Horovitz’s feature directorial debut, My Old Lady, is an adaptation of his own play and he has managed to successfully bring it over from the stage to the silver screen. Horovitz has an impressive body of work, being the author of over fifty produced plays and a number of screenplays. The latter include, James Dean, an award-winning biography of the actor, Author! Author!, starring Al Pacino, Sunshine, co-written with Istvan Szabo, and the Cannes Prix du Jury-winning, The Strawberry Statement.
My Old Lady is aided by perfect casting and the leading triumvirate of characters, although all slightly unsympathetic, radiate warmth by the end of the screening. It is worth immersing yourself in the vitriolic atmosphere to witness such fine transformations by Smith, Kline and Scott Thomas.
When a bitter New Yorker, Mathias Gold (Kevin Kline), a recovering alcoholic who has inherited a large apartment in Paris from his estranged father, turns up to take ownership of the property, he encounters a viager living there. Not commonly known to Australian audiences, this basically means a life annuity property, where the buyer gambles on the life expectancy of the seller, who has sold their property for a lesser price in order to continue in residence until they die. This would not seem such a bad deal for many and particularly in this case as the tenant happens to be a 90-year-old woman. But this is no ordinary nonagenarian and, as the story unfolds, she becomes even more complicated.
Maggie Smith is the old lady in residence, Mathilde Girard, an ex-pat Brit, who has kept her native tongue although she has lived in Paris for years. Her persona is not far removed from her dowager role in Downtown Abbey, albeit slightly less arch. Mathilde’s unmarried daughter Chloé (Kristen Scott Thomas), is her long-suffering companion, both irritated and at the same time intrigued by the foreign newcomer in their midst. Mathias is a somewhat crass and very blunt American, who appears as miserable as they are. He seeks a confidante to help him solve his financial woes and sets up several instructive meetings with a local estate agent, Monsieur Lefebvre (Dominique Pinon). In some of the best scenes in the film, the two men conspire to try and find a solution to the problem.
This contemporary comedy/drama is probably not a film for a younger audience, but it will resonate with older patrons who like a good yarn mixed in with a bit of mystery. The dialogue is sharp and brutal and avoids slipping into emotional mawkishness. On the contrary, you spend most of your time having little empathy for Gold’s situation, while at the same time enjoying the thoroughly cynical ride. The lovely old apartment, set in a picturesque arrondissement of Paris, is certainly worth fighting for. Kline’s performance will garner acclaim, as will Scott Thomas’s acidic yet beguiling role. Their performances, combined with the very watchable and verbose character played out by Maggie Smith, make My Old Lady one of the better indie films of the year.
Screenwriter: Israel Horovitz adapted from his play My Old Lady
Principal cast:
Kevin Kline
Maggie Smith
Kristin Scott Thomas
Dominique Pinon
Michael Burstin
Sophie Touitou
Country: UK/France/USA
Classification: M
Runtime: 107 mins.
Australian release date: 13 November 2014.
US playwright Israel Horovitz’s feature directorial debut, My Old Lady, is an adaptation of his own play and he has managed to successfully bring it over from the stage to the silver screen. Horovitz has an impressive body of work, being the author of over fifty produced plays and a number of screenplays. The latter include, James Dean, an award-winning biography of the actor, Author! Author!, starring Al Pacino, Sunshine, co-written with Istvan Szabo, and the Cannes Prix du Jury-winning, The Strawberry Statement.
My Old Lady is aided by perfect casting and the leading triumvirate of characters, although all slightly unsympathetic, radiate warmth by the end of the screening. It is worth immersing yourself in the vitriolic atmosphere to witness such fine transformations by Smith, Kline and Scott Thomas.
When a bitter New Yorker, Mathias Gold (Kevin Kline), a recovering alcoholic who has inherited a large apartment in Paris from his estranged father, turns up to take ownership of the property, he encounters a viager living there. Not commonly known to Australian audiences, this basically means a life annuity property, where the buyer gambles on the life expectancy of the seller, who has sold their property for a lesser price in order to continue in residence until they die. This would not seem such a bad deal for many and particularly in this case as the tenant happens to be a 90-year-old woman. But this is no ordinary nonagenarian and, as the story unfolds, she becomes even more complicated.
Maggie Smith is the old lady in residence, Mathilde Girard, an ex-pat Brit, who has kept her native tongue although she has lived in Paris for years. Her persona is not far removed from her dowager role in Downtown Abbey, albeit slightly less arch. Mathilde’s unmarried daughter Chloé (Kristen Scott Thomas), is her long-suffering companion, both irritated and at the same time intrigued by the foreign newcomer in their midst. Mathias is a somewhat crass and very blunt American, who appears as miserable as they are. He seeks a confidante to help him solve his financial woes and sets up several instructive meetings with a local estate agent, Monsieur Lefebvre (Dominique Pinon). In some of the best scenes in the film, the two men conspire to try and find a solution to the problem.
This contemporary comedy/drama is probably not a film for a younger audience, but it will resonate with older patrons who like a good yarn mixed in with a bit of mystery. The dialogue is sharp and brutal and avoids slipping into emotional mawkishness. On the contrary, you spend most of your time having little empathy for Gold’s situation, while at the same time enjoying the thoroughly cynical ride. The lovely old apartment, set in a picturesque arrondissement of Paris, is certainly worth fighting for. Kline’s performance will garner acclaim, as will Scott Thomas’s acidic yet beguiling role. Their performances, combined with the very watchable and verbose character played out by Maggie Smith, make My Old Lady one of the better indie films of the year.