Old age—something universally feared with
dread; and when The Lady in the Van
starts, the lady (Smith) is kinda funny and kinda repulsive at the same
time. There are two significant scenes
in the beginning that are a bit mystifying, but all is made crystal clear in
the end. One is a piano concert;
the other an ear-piercing car crash.
We get mostly the down side of aging in the
first part of The Lady in the Van,
but stay with it because it becomes more and more interesting about the lady,
as well as her “landlord”, Mr. Bennett (Alex Jennings). For instance, the lady’s name is
Mary—or it could be Margaret—one of the many quirky details sprinkled
throughout the movie. Similarly,
since Bennett is known to talk/argue with himself constantly, he’s pictured as
dual figures.
Mary/Margaret is a proud, eccentric woman who
lives in her van and tries out different parking places on a street in Camden
before she decides on the one out Bennett’s front door. She seems to despise music, so the
house a few doors away with children paying musical instruments is definitely
out. All the neighbors are
watching and struggling with conflicting emotions toward the woman, antsy about
which spot she will eventually choose.
But consistent with her keen sensibilities about people, she chooses
Bennett’s, which then becomes a continuous argument between his two selves
about what to do about it. The
agreement is that she will only park there temporarily.
Another clever device in the plot has to do
with the parallels between Bennett’s own mother and Mary. Bennett’s mother is aging and gradually
weakening, and he only grudgingly gives her as little as he can get by
with. Ah, but Mary has a sneaky
way of stealing into his good graces, as, for instance, getting him to allow
her to park her van in his driveway—give or take a few years, say, 15.
Maggie Smith is so perfect for this role, this
is her third rendition; she was previously in the 1999 original theatrical
production and in the 2009 BBC adaptation of the play. As Bennett describes her character, she
has “a bit of vagabond nobility about her.” So Smith’s range extends from the highly privileged
dowager in television’s “Downton Abbey” to the role of a homeless old lady in
this film—although the haughtiness, clever wit, and self-entitlement remain
intact throughout. She is the
consummate actress.
Direction (Nicholas Hytner), music (George
Fenton), and cinematography (Andrew Dunn) round out the fine talent involved in
this British production. It
touches so many aspects of aging, caretaking, human foibles, and interests, its
relevance is underscored.
The Lady in the Van is possibly someone
you might like to know.
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