Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont Movie Review 2005

Charming, gentle and somewhat melancholy comedy about the unlikely friendship between a 70-something widow and a 20-something writer. Mrs. Palfrey (Plowright) lives as independently as possible at a London residential hotel for the elderly. She's hoping to become closer to her grandson Desmond (O'Toole), but he doesn't visit. Instead, she literally stumbles into young Ludovic Meyer (Friend), an equally lonely soul. A bond begins that extends to Ludovic passing himself off as the absent grandson to maintain Mrs. Palfrey's pride (which will cause later confusion). An adaptation of the Elizabeth Taylor novel, which was set in the 1950s. This film's budget couldn't stretch to such a re-creation so it was updated to the present, with some awkwardness.

Distribution

Not Yet Released

Running time 108 minutes.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Comedy-Drama, Hotels & Hotel Staff Training, Great Britain, Aging

Screenplay

Ruth Sacks

Cast

Joan Plowright, Rupert Friend, Zoe Tapper, Anna Massey, Robert Lang, Marcia Warren, Millicent Martin, Lorcan O'Toole

Cinematography

Claudio Rocha

Director

Dan Ireland

Music

Stephen Barton

Other

Jerry Gilbert, Nigel Galt, Virginia Katz, Fabrice Spelta, Maja Meschede, Julian Nagel

Producer

Lee Caplin, Zachary Matz, Carl-Jan Colpaert, Picture Entertainment, Cineville/Picture Entertainment