TORONTO -- There is nothing like a couple of dames -- especially when the ladies in question happen to be the divine Dame Judi Dench and Dame Maggie Smith.
So estimable are their talents that they could turn a reading of stock quotations into a major theatrical event. Fortunately they've been given something much more substantial to chew on with Ladies in Lavender.
A period piece based on a short story by a lesser-known English writer named William J. Locke, the handsomely crafted portrait of a pair of sisters whose peaceful, meticulously orchestrated lives are seriously affected by the arrival of a young houseguest, marks the feature directorial and screenwriting debut of veteran actor Charles Dance.
Looking to land a distributor following its Toronto screenings, the picture would definitely find favor with the Enchanted April set and students of exemplary acting.
Set in a tightly knit Cornish fishing village in the mid-'30s, the character-driven piece centers on the relationship between sisters Janet (Smith) and Ursula (Dench) Waddington, who live in an immaculate little cottage, tended to by their no-nonsense housekeeper, Dorcas (the equally irrepressible Miriam Margolyes).
Janet's a widow and Ursula's a spinster, but they've acquired the time-honed rhythm of an old married couple.
That rhythm is about to be jarred out of sync when the semi-conscious body of a young man ("Good bye, Lenin!'s" Daniel Bruhl) washes ashore following a violent storm.
Unable to speak English, the mystery man is cared for by the two sisters, who eventually discover that he's a Polish castaway named Andrea who was headed for America in search of a better life.
But even with the inevitable language barrier, Andrea's presence has a profound effect on the infatuated Ursula, opening up complicated, long locked-away feelings that go beyond maternal instincts.
Jealousy will also rear its green-eyed head in the presence of a visiting artist who goes by the name of Olga Danilof (Natascha McElhone), whose presence, along with that of Andrea, stirs up a little prewar xenophobia in the closely guarded community.
It is to Dance's considerable credit that he never lets the filmmaking overtake the understated storytelling. Instead, the fine cinematography (by Alan Parker collaborator Peter Biziou), production design (Caroline Amies) and score (Nigel Hess) serve as grace notes to those perfectly rendered performances.
Ladies in Lavender
Lakeshore Entertainment
Lakeshore International Presents a U.K. Film Council and Baker Street presentation in association with Future Films and Paradigm Hyde Films
A Take Partnership production of a Scala Prods. film
Credits:
Director-screenwriter: Charles Dance
Based on the short story Ladies in Lavender by William J. Locke
Producers: Nicolas Brown, Elizabeth Karlsen, Nik Powell
Executive producers: Robert Jones, Emma Hayter, Bill Allan, Charles Dance
Director of photography: Peter Biziou
Production designer: Caroline Amies
Editor: Michael Parker
Costume designer: Barbara Kidd
Music: Nigel Hess
Cast:
Ursula: Judi Dench
Janet: Maggie Smith
Dorcas: Miriam Margoyles
Andrea: Daniel Bruhl
Olga: Natascha McElhone
Doctor Mead: David Warner
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 103 minutes...
So estimable are their talents that they could turn a reading of stock quotations into a major theatrical event. Fortunately they've been given something much more substantial to chew on with Ladies in Lavender.
A period piece based on a short story by a lesser-known English writer named William J. Locke, the handsomely crafted portrait of a pair of sisters whose peaceful, meticulously orchestrated lives are seriously affected by the arrival of a young houseguest, marks the feature directorial and screenwriting debut of veteran actor Charles Dance.
Looking to land a distributor following its Toronto screenings, the picture would definitely find favor with the Enchanted April set and students of exemplary acting.
Set in a tightly knit Cornish fishing village in the mid-'30s, the character-driven piece centers on the relationship between sisters Janet (Smith) and Ursula (Dench) Waddington, who live in an immaculate little cottage, tended to by their no-nonsense housekeeper, Dorcas (the equally irrepressible Miriam Margolyes).
Janet's a widow and Ursula's a spinster, but they've acquired the time-honed rhythm of an old married couple.
That rhythm is about to be jarred out of sync when the semi-conscious body of a young man ("Good bye, Lenin!'s" Daniel Bruhl) washes ashore following a violent storm.
Unable to speak English, the mystery man is cared for by the two sisters, who eventually discover that he's a Polish castaway named Andrea who was headed for America in search of a better life.
But even with the inevitable language barrier, Andrea's presence has a profound effect on the infatuated Ursula, opening up complicated, long locked-away feelings that go beyond maternal instincts.
Jealousy will also rear its green-eyed head in the presence of a visiting artist who goes by the name of Olga Danilof (Natascha McElhone), whose presence, along with that of Andrea, stirs up a little prewar xenophobia in the closely guarded community.
It is to Dance's considerable credit that he never lets the filmmaking overtake the understated storytelling. Instead, the fine cinematography (by Alan Parker collaborator Peter Biziou), production design (Caroline Amies) and score (Nigel Hess) serve as grace notes to those perfectly rendered performances.
Ladies in Lavender
Lakeshore Entertainment
Lakeshore International Presents a U.K. Film Council and Baker Street presentation in association with Future Films and Paradigm Hyde Films
A Take Partnership production of a Scala Prods. film
Credits:
Director-screenwriter: Charles Dance
Based on the short story Ladies in Lavender by William J. Locke
Producers: Nicolas Brown, Elizabeth Karlsen, Nik Powell
Executive producers: Robert Jones, Emma Hayter, Bill Allan, Charles Dance
Director of photography: Peter Biziou
Production designer: Caroline Amies
Editor: Michael Parker
Costume designer: Barbara Kidd
Music: Nigel Hess
Cast:
Ursula: Judi Dench
Janet: Maggie Smith
Dorcas: Miriam Margoyles
Andrea: Daniel Bruhl
Olga: Natascha McElhone
Doctor Mead: David Warner
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 103 minutes...
- 9/20/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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