Last night I went to see the charming film The Lady in the Van at the Broadway. It tells the (mostly) true story of how a homeless woman named Mary Shepherd (Maggie Smith) came to park her van in the driveway of playwright Alan Bennett (Alex Jennings) for fifteen years and the development of their unlikely friendship. It is a slow moving film filled with lots of dialogue but, as I said, I found it to be charming, mostly on the strength of Maggie Smith's wonderful performance. She excels at playing irascible old women! My favorite device is depicting Alan Bennett as two separate characters: the one who lives life and the one who writes about it. Alan Bennett, the participant, slowly discovers that Miss Shepherd has had a fascinating life as a world-renowned musician, a nun, and an ambulance driver during the war. He also discovers the events which drove her to her lowly condition. Alan Bennett, the writer, makes critical comments about the passivity which has allowed Miss Shepherd to take up residence while simultaneously wishing that he could write about her. When the two characters, both played by Alex Jennings, argue with each other it is quite amusing. To be sure, this is a comedy with lots of funny contributions from the ensemble cast playing Bennett's eccentric neighbors and, of course, Maggie Smith doing what she does best, but there is an incredibly poignant moment near the end of the film which had me in tears. Ultimately, Miss Shepherd helps Bennett figure out who he really is. The ending is a bit hokey (Bennett, the participant, frequently points out the events which didn't happen to Bennett, the writer) but, overall, I really enjoyed the film. Fans of Maggie Smith are sure to enjoy it, as well.
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