User Reviews

I went into the Paris Theatre in New York last night, more as a refuge from the merciless weather that anything else. What a wonderful and unexpected surprise. Joan Plowright plays a widow who decides to live her last years of her life as an independent woman in a small retirement hotel in London. I'm not sure if she knew that independence sometimes means loneliness but she learns soon enough as loneliness becomes her constant companion. Her only grandson never calls, in fact nobody ever calls her. A fortuitous encounter with a young struggling writer will change her life as she will change his. This beautiful and seemingly simple story is filled with startling gems. Joan Plowright very much at the heart of the piece gives a multi-layered performance that never falls into sentimentality. Rupert Friend (Ludo, the struggling writer) is a perfect foil for the world she protectively stores in her brain and in her heart. The humor and the superb performances by the elderly guests of the hotel is a breath of fresh vintage air. When Ruper Friend meets Dame Joan's friends at the hotel, he exclaims "We're trapped in a Terence Rattigan play" Yes you are, beautifully so

There is much to admire in this surprising little movie. Joan Plowright gives one of the best performances of her career and that's no small claim. I connected with her immediately, she did reminded me of my own grandmother and I must admit I found myself with tears running down my face. Her brief encounter with a struggling writer, penniless but with a heart of gold and the face of a movie star becomes convincing against all odds. Ruper Friend displays a devastating charm and his goodness is actually believable. Even the great Anna Massey is given some magic moments on the screen but, perhaps, the biggest surprise is to find out that Ruth Sachs, the writer, is an 85 year old with no previous screen writing credits. The wit and youthful zest of her dialogs and that 1950's feel in a 2005 environment is the most startling aspect of "Mrs. Palfrey At The Claremont" The film suffers from a hesitant composition, we move from close ups to long shots without any rhyme or reason but that flaw, annoying as it is, doesn't spoil the ultimate delights that the film offers. The occasional voice overs are another stroke of genius of Mrs. Sachs. They are the most poignant, opportune and beautifully delivered voice overs in recent memory. Whatever your age, do yourself a favor. Go meet Mrs Palfrey at any theater near you

Dan Ireland has created a very touching movie about the dignities and indignities of life intertwined that we all face in varying degrees, and how those occurrences can be changed in a moment. Joan Plowright as Mrs. Palfrey was next to perfect in her role of aging recent widow moved to London and living in a residence hotel in order to get on with the next phase of her life in the most pleasing and dignified ways possible for a woman of her certain age. Most interestingly, Mr. Ireland showed well the odd, standoffish and sterile way the English live and dine in residence hotels, as it was shown to be as entertaining as it was quaint, lonely and sad at times. But, things were soon going to change.............

Mrs Palfrey chanced to meet a handsome but very poor busker who helped her after a fall she had on a sidewalk outside of his spartan flat. Thus blossomed one of the finest film friendships between those of vastly differing ages that I have seen since Harold and Maude. The caring and loving way Rupert Friend's struggling young man character took to Mrs. Palfrey, and was returned by her, was perhaps not something we would not see in a thousand years in real life with most young people today, but its unlikeliness was just the right recipe here for giving both the attention, happiness and improved self worth they both desperately needed at that point in their lives. The entire story was about that blossoming friendship and the rewarding gift it gave to each of them.

Gift yourself and see this film story for a quiet and very high quality perception of aging, life circumstances and the deep value of true friendship, all of which battered down all doors of convention and showed well that true and loving human connections will always be made by differing people having the level of desire and need to do so.

You know the difference between your Mom's home made, hand-made-with-love cookies and the mass produced things in the supermarket? Well Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont is a hand-made-with-love movie.

I can't imagine anyone not being moved by this story of a friendship between and elderly (and still beautiful) lady and a sensitive young man of 26.

For me (not much younger than Mrs Palfrey) this was a double treat as the film contains so many wonderful old actors, people who have been in the business, excelling at their art for decades. It must have been daunting for the younger ones to be on set with all these gems.

Particularly nice to see Georgina Hale, who has the most unusual speech delivery which perfectly comes out as an 'elderly foible' in the movie but is, in fact, the way she talks all the time - wonderful! Dear old Robert Lang died shortly after the movie finished shooting, so it was dedicated to him - a fine tribute for a great actor.

There was just one tiny thing I would have liked - the backstory. It's not until 3/4 way through the movie that we realise why this obviously well-heeled lady (you have to be to afford full board in an hotel in Langham Place!) chose to move to London. Ostensibly it is to be near her grandson but he clearly has no time for her and never did. She's moved from Scotland but would have been better off in a village, a small community, not in the soulless city. So that's a bit of a problem, she simply doesn't have enough reason for such a radical change of scene.

But I'm being picky and the film deserves every plaudit - doesn't need Oscars, leave them for the glitzy trash, this is way, way above Oscar level. This is genius and near perfection.

There has been some criticism that it's too sugary, that a young man would never befriend an old lady but this is ridiculous. Though Taylor's Ludo was not quite as open-hearted as the character played so equisitely by Rupert Friend, I know from personal experience that such friendships are not only possible but frequent.

So, if you want to see some of Britain's real stars, home-made goodies every one, acting with sensitivity, humour and considerable charm, this is the film to see - take someone you love. Take hankies too.

When I was eleven years old, I was sent away to boarding school in the English spa town of Malvern, where I spent the three worst and most miserable years of my life. Three times per term, my parents were allowed to visit for what were called exeat weekends, and when they did, they stayed at one of the many stiflingly mediocre hotels to be found in Malvern at that time. These hotels were full of the genteel poor portrayed in Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont, long term residents. Many had spent their lives overseas, with no real roots in the UK and with no relatives who wanted to know them, and coming from ex colonies where they had lived with servants, they had little idea of how to fend for themselves. I get the feeling that writer Elizabeth Taylor must have spent time in some of the very places my parents stayed, and where I was forced to eat many an overcooked dinner served in hushed tones by wait-staff very similar to the ones shown here! Possibly Ruth Sacks who adapted the screenplay and director Dan Ireland visited too. Unfortunately few of the people I encountered at these run down spa hotels were half as interesting as the people who inhabit the Claremont, and there were definitely no Rupert Friend look-alikes to stir my pre-teen heart.

The story is transposed to London. Finding herself alone in her twilight years and with her family too busy to be interested in her, Mrs Palfrey, a woman who is still looking at life with interest and optimism, (and who presumably has at least some disposable income), moves into the Claremont Hotel, a slightly down at heel relic, and finds herself befriending a local young writer Ludovic, played by the appealing Rupert Friend, who was so noticeable as wicked Mr Wickham in Pride and Prejudice in 2005. Ludovic is a throwback to a bygone era of Romanticism, sensitive and idealistic, and they find mutual territory in poetry and gentle friendship despite the age difference. Ludovic finds himself being utilised as a stand in for Mrs Palfrey's real grandson, who never returns her calls, and who can't take the time out of his busy life to have dinner with his granny.

Joan Plowright is riveting as Mrs Palfrey. What a masterclass in acting this is! The other assorted characters are interesting and amusing in their own way, but are really presented as stereotypes, whereas Mrs Palfrey is seen as a well rounded human being with vulnerabilities, interests and needs as well as keen intelligence. For me, what makes this movie work so well, is that Mrs Palfrey, a Brit of a certain generation, has a fairly no-nonsense approach to life, so it never sinks into sentimentality, and there are no ponderous, sugar coated scenes where she tries to impart the wisdom of her years to her young acolyte. The simple message – as far as there is one – is that friendship matters and that the elderly may have interesting stories to tell if we bother to listen. A lovely movie.

MRS. PALFREY AT THE CLAREMONT is an adaptation by Ruth Sacks of the book by British novelist Elizabeth Taylor (1912 - 1975) and directed with consummate skill by Dan Ireland. It is a showcase for the extraordinary talents of Dame Joan Plowright who owns the title role and of relative newcomer Rupert Friend, surely an actor to watch rise.

Mrs. Palfrey (Plowright) is recently widowed and decides to move to a small hotel in London to spend her last years as a lady of independence. The Claremont is a crumbling old edifice that serves as a retirement home for a small but fascinating group of tenants: the fastidious but cranky Mrs. Arbuthnot (Anna Massey), a would-be suitor for Mrs. Palfrey's hand Mr. Osborne (Robert Lang), Mrs. Post (Marcia Warren), the nosy matchmaker Mrs. Burton (Georgina Hale), and a strange old couple, the De Salises (Millicent Martin and Michael Culkin). Once settled into her barely navigable room, Mrs. Palfrey meets her fellow 'inmates' at dinner, and announces that she has a grandson who will be calling on her at times. Yet despite multiple attempts her grandson Desmond (Lorcan O'Toole) doesn't respond and Mrs. Palfrey realizes she has entered a world of loneliness.

Out on an errand she falls and is befriended by a handsome young busker/writer Ludovic Meyer (Rupert Friend) who nurses her leg wound, makes her tea, and escorts her home. Ludo is a loner and lonely and when Mrs. Palfrey offers him dinner at the hotel he gladly accepts. But at the hotel the guests presume that Mrs. Palfrey's guest will be her grandson Desmond: Mrs. Palfrey hastily informs Ludo that she has erred and Ludo agrees to pose as her grandson. The guests at the hotel are charmed by Ludo, and Mrs. Palfrey and Ludo grow increasingly bonded - they share many likes and tastes and meld into a beautiful relationship that would be the envy of any grandmother and grandson. Mrs. Palfrey's loneliness is dissipated by Ludo and the effect is vice versa. How the two progress to the end of the film, finding new lives from old ones, forms the immensely touching finale to the film.

Though this film falls into the 'ensemble acting' category, so finely entwined are the performances of every actor in the cast, the film clearly belongs to Dame Joan Plowright whose performance once again proves that she is one of the durable treasures of cinema and stage. This is a film that will touch the hearts of even the most hardened viewers and this viewer cannot recommend it more highly. Grady Harp, December 06

A lonely pair of people, one in her 70's, one in his 20's, find each other in London and become a makeshift family far better than their "real" families.

It's a bit cloying and sometimes unrealistic--for instance, how someone who looks like Rupert Friend could possibly be without a girlfriend for so long as a day beggars belief, and we're supposed to believe that he has a hard time finding one. And London is awfully safe and clean, here. The hotel is, I think, supposed to be a bit seedy (at least dialog suggests so) but what is on film is glistening. That the writer sometimes has VO narration is odd--it comes so infrequently, it feels like a mistake when it arrives. And it all moves verrry. slowwww. ly.

But if you like these sorts of meandering feel-good stories, without any edge whatsoever, it is well enough done. The acting is good. There aren't many good roles for older women, and this has several. Rupert Friend is gorgeous and charming, and the scene where he sings "We May Never Meet Again" to her is a moving emotional climax and worth waiting through the slower points before (though if you're a of a certain mindset about music, you may not like the jazz spin he puts on it.) Her date with the older fellow is quite funny, too, and puts some interest into a sluggish part of the film.

"Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont" is the right vehicle for Joan Plowright in which to shine. As guided by Dan Ireland, this bittersweet novel by Elizabeth Taylor about a genteel world in our time gets a great treatment for the screen by Ruth Sacks.

Mrs. Palfrey is a woman of independent means that decides to spend some time in a London hotel she saw in an advertisement in Scotland. As happens with this sort of thing, the picture in the newspaper was much better than the reality this lady encounters as she settles for her stay at the Claremont. One of the things that made Mrs. Palfrey's mind was the promise of the fine English cuisine something the taxi driver, that is taking her to her new home, finds extremely amusing.

The hotel is home to some older women and men that are retired, but who are nearby to all the attractions that a great city like London has to offer. Since it's such a small place, curiosity and a bit of gossip are found among the people one sees, basically in the dining hall at breakfast, or at dinner.

Mrs. Palfrey meets Ludovic when she falls on the sidewalk in front of his apartment. "Ludo", as he wants to be called, is a busker, a young man that sings in the underground in exchange of the coins passersby throw in his guitar case. Mrs. Palfrey has a grandson, Desmond, who proves to be illusive, at best; so trying to be kind to Ludo, she invites him for dinner at the Claremont and asks him to pretend he is her grandson. This proves to be the beginning of a happy and uncomplicated friendship between a woman at the end of her life and a young man just beginning his.

The main reason for watching the film is Joan Plowright in one of the best roles of her career. Lately, this fine actress has been relegated to playing grandmothers, and assorted ladies in the American cinema, and frankly, she is an actress that clearly deserves better, although not many older roles are written for actresses her age. The film is targeted to a mature audience that identifies with the leading lady of the film.

Rupert Friend makes a good Ludovic and plays well against Ms. Plowright. Zoe Tapper is Gwendolyn, the girl he meets at the video store when they are both reaching for "Brief Encounter", which is Mrs. Palfrey's favorite movie. Anna Massey is splendid as Mrs. Arbuthnot and Millicent Martin is seen in a small role.

The film is a delightful way to spend time at the movies with great company. Thanks to Joan Plowright and Dan Ireland, this is a film the joy it is.

Summary: Tomorrow is made for some, and tomorrow may never come... Score: 9/10 A movie my mom asked me to see. She didn't recommend it, she asked me to see it, so in a way I feel as though she's here watching it with me, perhaps invited to learn something about the way my mom feels about her own life, and to me that's a very special invitation.

Joan Plowright is outrageously genius as Mrs. Palfrey, the traditional and sensitive, thoughtful widow who is coming into a new chapter of her life. One many call her Golden Years.

Anna Massey has the funniest lines and is adorable. "I watch Sex and the City. It makes me feel better knowing I won't be around very much longer." "I'm just exercising my rights. It keeps my heart going. A little thing I learned from Mrs. Thatcher." One afternoon, coming home from posting a letter to a grandson who never calls, she trips in front of a young man's apartment who comes to her aid. There is something about their meeting where she's says indignantly I'm fine! And he says kindly, no you're not and brings her inside for a moment. There is something very moving about this meeting, as the viewer realizes they could be in either position any time in our lives. Just the right amount of time is spent to let that settle on the surface of consciousness if one is so obliged, but not long enough to force it if you aren't.

She invites him, Ludovic Meyer, played by Rupert Friend who bares a striking resemblance to Orlando Bloom, but what an actor! to visit her one Saturday evening for dinner at the Claremont. but when all the other ladies think she means her grandson, she doesn't quite know how to tell them her grandson still has not called, and thus begins a ruse, but a sweet and kindly ruse.

Okay I lied, Anna Massey doesn't have a monopoly on the funny lines. Everyone is quite brilliant.

The Claremont is a marvelous and quaint hotel in London, but what truly stands out are the personalities. And perhaps in a Harold and Maude sort of way, the two will help each other in astonishing and unexpected ways. In fact the aforementioned film is mentioned at one point.

For the "grandson", he begins writing a novel entitled "We Aren't Allowed To Die Here" concerning a rule Mrs. Palfrey told to him that evening at dinner.

It reminds me of a woman I met in San Diego. She was in her 90s, and the life she lived, the memories of her life, truly a treat to listen to. That kind of walk through history is never so rich and moving and meaningful as when it is from the person themselves. I wish I remembered her name, she was a remarkable woman.

Is it possible when Mrs. Palfrey calls "Major" this is an homage to the famous character from Fawlty Towers played by the very much loved and respected Ballard Berkeley who passed in 1988? We watch as Mrs. Palfrey relives the happiest moments of her life, somewhat vicariously through her new friend Ludovic, as he finds the love of his life through finding the catalyst which brought Mr.s Palfrey and her dead husband Arthur together so long ago, in the film A Brief Encounter by Noel Coward. After watching this film I highly recommend finding a copy of the romantic and beautiful film mentioned by Noel Coward, Brief Encounter (1945), as I am going to watch and review that film next! In the end, Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont is not an ending, but a moment in time. A touching and poignant snapshot of a poem laying on a sidewalk. A ripple on the water and then no more. But something lives on, something beautiful, and we should find the time to share that with our own loved ones, friends, and strangers. For life is so short, and we truly are together here in this crazy and lonely mixed up world.

The song "For All We Know", I must confess I already knew how to play on the guitar :) For all we know we may never meet again Before you go make this moment sweet again We wont say good night until the last minute Ill hold out my hand and my heart will be in it For all we know this may only be a dream We come and go like a ripple on a stream So love me tonight; tomorrow was made for some Tomorrow may never come for all we know So love me tonight; tomorrow was made for some Tomorrow may never come for all we know

MRS. PALFREY AT THE CLAREMONT is an elegant, moving story of a lovely woman of age on a journey to find something meaningful again in her life and literally "trips" into the life of a young man on his own journey to find himself as a writer. Many will think of HAROLD AND MAUDE, but MRS. PALFREY is a much more enticing film of two people, no matter the age, who happen to come into each other's lives at a time when they become very important to each other in the self repair of their own images. A brilliant, wonderful, beautifully presented film.

Joan Plowright as Mrs. Palfrey is so lovely on the screen and in her meeting the handsome Rupert Friend, Ludvic, seems to take on a glow of happiness and pleasure as their friendship deepens and they become more involved in each other's lives. Their scenes in the lovely parks of London as well as the interiors of the Claremont are scenes that have humor, compassion and great understanding between them. This is something which is missing in both their relationships with their own families.

Through Mrs. Palfrey, and their conversations about film, Ludvic is able to find a young woman who loves him for himself, and as Mrs. Palfrey's journey ends, his begins with the happiness and satisfaction of having found not only Mrs. Palfrey, but someone who will be with him in his life, and truly love him for the man he is.

As Oscar season approaches, Joan Plowright's MRS. PALFREY is a film to remember, honor and cherish.

"Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont" is a sweet addition to the "young person learns that senior citizens are people too" genre, more charming and satisfying than "Ladies in Lavender."

Joan Plowright commands the screen, of course, as the title senior citizen who in trying to establish independence from her family finds herself in a residential hotel in London where she is a bit above the other elderly residents in some ways, particularly in dignity and refinement, probably education and possibly health, though it's not clear in income.

It seems intentionally old-fashioned to list her hunky, dimpled co-star as "Introducing Rupert Friend" in the credits, even if this was made before he was "Wickham" in "Pride & Prejudice." (And when his shirt does finally come off it's not even gratuitous.)

The screenplay (there's a credit that director Dan Ireland added dialog to Ruth Sacks's debut adaptation of Elizabeth Taylor's novel) has some too cute pop culture references (yet another movie where seniors watch reruns of "Sex and the City" to stay au courant on mores but the "Harold and Maude" disclaimer is actually reassuring). While there are mutual motivations for their blossoming and continuing friendship (even when he starts to neglect her like her grandson), the literature references, particularly to a Terence Rattigan play setting, at first seem too arch, but joint admiration for Wordsworth and Blake is an effective a cross-generational communication vehicle. There's also a winsome tribute to the importance of historic preservation as being able to pass an experience on from one generation to the next.

The best parts of the film are when each character crosses over into the other's sphere, the scruffy writer awkwardly straightening up for a formal dinner, or the grande dame encountering first his bitter ex-girl friend in the park, then his mother (a terrifically drawn cameo by Clare Higgins) in what I presume the Brits would call an estate building. Friend changes his whole demeanor in "Ludovic"s own environs, while Plowright plays along with the flustered old lady routine amusingly. I was a bit surprised that he would know a less familiar Rosemary Clooney song, but I guess as a busker he got to know the odd request; the scene where he sings it to her is so touching that the reality doesn't really matter (and the many seniors in the audience were humming along). At least it was realistic that he had never seen "Brief Encounter."

The directing is very slow-paced, with too much of a tendency for the camera to move back on a frozen tableau. The soundtrack is mostly lovely, though Stephen Barton's score is occasionally intrusive.

Anna Massey is marvelous as a tart-tongued hotel resident who befriends "Mrs. Palfrey." It is amusing when "Mrs. Palfrey" momentarily gets confused and calls (the late) Robert Lang "the Major" as that was probably what he has been called in so many of his movies (there's a tribute line to him in the credits, as this was his last film).

The film reminded me of the many satisfying cross-generational friendships I've struck up and continued in my volunteer work. The extensive acknowledgments in the credits include tributes to the strong women in the creators' lives, with a concluding dedication to their mothers and grandmothers that infuses the sensibility of the whole film.

You know when a director with the last name of Ireland does a film about a Scottish lady coming to London that there's got to be some major appeal.

Independent film lovers will cheer for MRS. PALFREY AT THE CLAREMONT, a story with a strong script, excellent acting, and some sumptuous English scenery.

Joan Plowright (JANE EYRE, 1996) stars as Mrs. Palfrey, an aging widow who's traveled from Scotland to London to start her life anew in her sunset years. She decides to spend her waning years at a retirement hotel called The Claremont, a somewhat drab locale from what was advertised to Mrs. Claremont in a picture magazine. No matter. She makes herself comfortable, running into The Claremont's quirky staff and residents. The bellhop is a portly and sonorous balding man who mumbles more than he speaks. And the residents range from overly-nosy to irritatingly grumpy. But most want to know why Mrs. Palfrey's grandson, Desmond, (whom she calls all the time) doesn't come to see her.

One potentially rainy day, Mrs. Palfrey is returning from an outdoor excursion, hurrying home, when she stumbles and falls outside a young man's flat. The 26-year-old man's odd name is Ludovic Meyer (Rupert Friend, PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, 2005). Ludy (as he likes to be called) helps Mrs. Palfrey and in return asks that she help him write a really great novel. He wants to use her years and experience to aid in his telling of the story. Ludy seems like such a nice young man that Mrs. Palfrey agrees. Ludy walks Mrs. Palfrey home and everyone at The Claremont immediately believes this to be the elusive Desmond. Mrs. Palfrey lets this deception continue and even invites Ludy over for dinner at The Claremont posing as her grandson. Everyone is smitten with Mrs. Palfrey's faux-grandson and a relationship between Mrs. Palfrey and Ludy starts blossoming.

This isn't a Harry and Maude relationship. This is a relationship not built on a scrap of sexual innuendo. It is a love of friendship and understanding that reaches deep into each of the characters and pulls out of it a fantastic end of life/beginning of life set of circumstances. The beauty of Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont is that the story builds on each subsequent scene, moving us deeper and deeper into their lives. We see Mrs. Palfrey's love of her dead husband, Arthur, and the beginnings of Ludy's relationship with a beautiful young lady thanks to a movie recommendation by Mrs. Palfrey.

Although the beginning of the film takes a while to catch on (i.e., it may seem painstakingly slow to some), the ending is well worth your time. It is a story that's been told before, but not with such impact, and this is undoubtedly thanks to the strong script by Ruth Sacks based on Elizabeth Taylor's bestselling novel (no, not that Elizabeth Taylor).

Also, the filming at the New Forest Palace grounds near the Abbey at Beaulieu was some wonderful visual candy for fans of this film. It was unbelievably beautiful.

One big warning: make sure you keep a box of Kleenex next to you as the story comes to a close. You'll need 'em.

Dame Joan Plowright plays an elderly, recently widowed woman who attempts to cope with her grief and loneliness by moving into a residential hotel in west central London. She intends this as an extended fling, the outcome of which is uncertain to her, providing some sense of adventure, which is really what she's after.

How unlike the bleak retrenchment in monotonously familiar surroundings that so many people in her circumstances settle for, and thus how admirable an idea. To her dismay, the hotel is quite rundown and inhabited by other older persons each living in a rut all their own.

When Mrs. Palfrey's own vacuous grandson fails to come visit, chance presents her with a proxy, a compliant young writer, played by newcomer Rupert Friend, who strikes a bargain with Mrs. Palfrey, agreeing to act the part of her grandson and thus satisfy the curiosity of the other residents, in return for which he asks to conduct interviews of her to help him write a book. Mr. Friend is a good sport about his role, but he is required to wear wretchedly nerdy attire and act too preciously sweet, which dooms his relationship with Mrs. Palfrey to a cloying caricature.

Ms. Plowright herself is splendidly dignified, deadpan when called for, and believable throughout. At age 75, when the film was made, she had been suffering from severe glaucoma for years, couldn't read the script without a magnifying lens, and had limited shooting hours imposed by her physician. Nevertheless, she was an inspired performer from whom the director, Portlander Dan Ireland, learned a lot, he told us, in a Q&A that followed tonight's screening.

Her presence as the lead also attracted several other marvelous British character actors to work on the film. Among the hotel residents are actor Robert Lang, 70, a favorite of Ms. Plowright's late husband, Sir Laurence Olivier, who plays a would be suitor (he died two weeks after the shoot); Anna Massey, 67, actor Raymond Massey's daughter, as a controlling busybody; and Marcia Warren, recipient of several recent London theater awards, as a self-effacing, timid soul.

They're all terrific, but even better is Timothy Bateson, at 78 the oldest actor on the set, who plays the hunkering, taciturn bellman. He's had 141 roles spanning a 57 year film career, but I can't imagine that he was ever better than he is here, stealing scenes with his huge repertoire of grunts and grimaces – I really can't recall that he spoke a word of actual English. Dame Joan told Ireland that Bateson has always had this gift, not infrequently a cause of frustration for other actors who might have preferred an audience to watch them instead.

Ireland told us that the screenplay was the very first ever written by an 85 year old woman, Ruth Sacks. It's based on a 1973 novel by Elizabeth Taylor (not the actress) who was dying of cancer at the time, no doubt contributing to a decidedly more cynical slant than the screenplay gives. The ensemble of aging actors, with Dame Joan at their center, is the reason to see this film. The story, a geriatric sitcom at one level, is also a telling commentary on the isolation of many elders, even when sharing the same residence and meals. My grade: B 6/10.

a simple friendship story. charming for the chemistry between the lead actors. for the presence of Joan Plowright . for the surprising performance of Rupert Friend. and for the spring air. for the passing time as a state who becomes almost material. for the forms of joy and delight and sadness and hope. and, maybe, for the status of refuge for the admirers not only of romanticism in different nuances but , maybe, first, for the conquerors of the lights and shadows and colors and flavors of the past. a film like an oasis. and, maybe, this is its basic meaning.

This is a beautiful story about a woman in her seventies and her "adopted" grandson in his twenties, whom she met by accident. I felt myself settle right into my heart while watching this gem. My breathing became soft and steady as I gave myself over to the gracious tenderness of spirit depicted.

The gentle hand of the late director Dan Ireland guides this touching story about a widow, Joan Plowright, who goes to live in a residence hotel in London after her husband dies. The place isn't what she thought at all. She is cultured and dignified. The hotel is quirky and crummy, with some lonely residents who become friends.

Rupert Friend, in his first film role, plays Ludovic, (a writer who earns his living by busking), that helps Mrs. Palfrey when she falls while out on an errand. The two form a genuine connection makes me long for a world where loving kindness is the norm instead of a miracle. Mrs. Palfrey then asks 'Luco' to come to the residence hall and act like he is her grandson, Desmond, because the real Desmond is a dud who hasn't returned his grandmother's calls or bothered to visit.

Plowright plays a nuanced, well layered woman adjusting to her life alone. Friend is lovely and perfect in this role, and when he sings, it sent me right back in time to my twenties when most of the men I dated were musicians who remind me spot on of this character. During the singing scene, Mrs. Palfrey's reaction had me tearing up.

There are a few moments of platitudes in the film that made me slightly cringe, because I don't do platitudes well. I can overlook that bit because overall the film is wonderful.

A powerful, yet subtle film that will touch anyone with a pulse. Joan Plowright is a gift from God, and no wonder Laurence Olivier married her. What a breathtaking performance! Rupert Friend is another reason to state that the best actors are coming out of England. He matches Dame Plowright's prowess with his elegant subtle grace, and the match is one made in movie heaven. What a shame the Oscars passed this one by, they always do when it comes to intelligent smallish films with a heart, as if they never existed. Do yourselves a favor, run to see this as soon as you can, and if anyone tells you different, grab their wrist, check their pulse to see if they have one. Kudos to all involved in pulling this one off.

Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont (2005) was co-written and directed by Dan Ireland. It was based on a novel by Elizabeth Taylor. (The writer, not the actor.)

Joan Plowright portrays Mrs Palfrey, an older woman who moves into the Claremont Hotel. (This is a residence hotel. It's sort of like Fawlty Towers without the comedy.) All of the other residents are lonely and isolated, and so is Mrs. Palfrey. Her grandson, who lives in London, doesn't visit her.

By chance, Mrs. Palfrey meets an impoverished writer, Ludo, played by Rupert Friend. Ludo stands in for the neglectful grandson, and Palfrey and Ludo develop a real relationship.

Plowright and Friend are superb actors, and the movie flourishes because of their skills. On the other hand, in the plot, Mrs. Palfrey does nothing to relieve her loneliness. She could do more than eat in silence and go to bed. Her happiness shouldn't depend on whether or not her grandson visits her. (To be fair, the plot of the movie sticks very closely to the novel, so we can't blame director Ireland for that.)

Mrs. Palfrey has a strong IMDb rating of 7.6. I didn't think it was quite that good, and rated it 7.

I've watched this movie twice. I will probably watch it again someday. It is a lovely reminder of how people come into your life and become family. Our own relatives may not be the people we choose to be with. We choose who we want to have loving relationships with. Joan Plowright is delightful. Rupert Friend is delicious.

Every plot development in this movie, a meditation on life, death, love, poetic inspiration, and family ties, is hackneyed and accordingly totally predictable, but it satisfies just the same. The secret, I think, is the beauty which the cinematographer has wrung out of London, a preposterously gorgeous "retirement hotel," and the faces of the lead and character actors; the civility, respect for diversity, and stoicism inherent in the dialog; and the complete absence of anything like a laugh track to the comedy.

Mrs. Palfrey, a London retiree recently widowed (played by Joan Plowright), befriends a good looking, slightly offbeat young man (played by Rupert Friend) who writes. A sensitive chap, he honors her friendship with the respect an older lady deserves. She guides him like the grandson she unfortunately has always had. He meets a girl. She lets him go.

Enjoy it.

This film was fabulous. In particular mention was the superb acting of Rupert Friend, that brought the depth of emotion to this film. He was the rudder of introspection that kept the film moving throughout themes of past loves and loving parents. The connection between Mrs. Palfrey and the character of Rupert Friend had a beautiful evolution where the deep stroke of the films success was in the final expression of Rupert Friend's appreciation of Mrs. Palfreys gift of a loving relationship. Overall, a wonderful feel good film that however being on the lower budget level, still leaves you feeling warmly touched from something that one would expect to come from a higher budget production film. 8/10 IMDB rating.

Liked the movie, altho' not as much as my wife. We were fortunate to have the director, Dan Ireland, at the movie viewing. In response to a question as to how she (Mrs. Palfry) would allow herself to be admitted to the flat of a person who looked like a bum, and allow herself to be handled, he said the movie was based on a real incident in the 50's. At that time London was a safe city. She had no fear of an attack or aggression on his part. I was waiting for something strange to happen, especially when he applied something to her knee, and took hold of it...yikes!!!!!

Didn't think about it for a while, then it hit me: they did not have DVD's or video stores in the 50's, nor did they have equipment to play films on. So how did the scene where he met his girl friend fit in?

Anyone????

My wife and I are in our sixties, on the cusp of the people who lived in the Claremont. Memories dim, connections become tenuous, and the good moments are all the more precious. As we watched it at home in our den, just the two of us together, without a word to each other, we realized our good fortune to have each other, to share experiences such as this.

This film was inspired, yet true to the reality of those at the two poles of adulthood; Mrs. Palefry with her memories, and Ludovic, uncertain whether life is an insurmountable challenge or a delightful complexity to be unraveled and shared through his writing.

While meeting "cute" could be a cinematic cliché, the genuineness of the characters immediately dispelled that thought, mostly because we cared about these people from the beginning. Every person who appeared in the film, from the forlorn doorman, the waitress, the hotel residents, all were people with real lives, whom we just didn't get quite enough time to get to know better.

The scene where the three residents spontaneously joined in singing of "Autumnal Romance," took the risk of turning this serious film into a parody of a musical. It was a risk wisely taken, since those musicals are abstractions of human spirit that is quite real.

Ludivic's singing the words, "For all we know," but to a different melody, was a stroke of brilliance, as it focused on the poetry, the touching mystery of these lyrics, disconnected from the enchanting music.

If life is, as the song suggests, "only a dream," an ephemeral vivid simulacrum of life, usually lost upon awakening; this film managed to give this singular dream a permanence that will be treasured by young and old alike.

This reminded me a little of "Mrs. Caldicot's Cabbage War" (2002) as it depicts the determination of an older person not to just let their toes curl up whilst waiting for God. The recently widowed eponymous lady (Dame Joan Plowright) arrives at the residential "Claremont" hotel and is introduced to quite an eclectic clientele who are all in a similar boat. She's is walking back from the post office when she takes a tumble outside the flat of the floppy haired young "Ludo" (Rupert Friend). He takes care of her, gives her a cup of tea and that's the start of the friendship that livens up both of their lives with some gentle mischief and a growing inter-dependency that reinvigorates her and helps him to get back to his writing. Robert Lang, Anna Massey and an on-form Marcia Warren provide extra richness as her fellow inmates, and the gentle humour and very less-is-more stye of delivery from Dame Joan works well with the engaging effort from her young Friend. Was she abandoned by her family or did she abandon them? It's quite a touchingly written character study and though maybe fifteen minutes too long, is still worth a watch to see some true professionals at work.

Very nice idea for a film--the idea that the elderly do have lives/needs/interests. However, the slights/abuses toward the elderly in this film counteract most of the positive ideas here. Ms Plowright looks just like Elizabeth II--not sure it that was so intentional, but she ends up to be very revered, holier than thou compared to her supposed "peers" at the elderly hotel.

One woman who dares to be friendly and approach others in the dining room is nearly lambasted each time for "bothering" Mrs. P. Too bad, some young, handsome gent doesn't befriend her--she is a person as well with a past that none of us ever knows about. Wish she had found Ludovic before Mrs. P did.

Also, the poor waitress is also blasted by several, never spoken to kindly, and not introduced to Mrs. P's supposed grandson, even when she seemed very interested in him. Guess she was just too lowly, tho young.

Those poor elderly peers seem to be happy for Mrs. P that she has a date , in addition to having a fake grandson. These "peers" seem to have nothing, yet they are never invited to sit at her table or go out with her on her jaunts with "grandson". Toward the end, Mrs. P is angry with them for "noticing her too much" and all she wants is to be invisible--I guess just from them--the lowly elderly crowd.

This approach to the aging group was just sad to see especially when one of them is singled out to be of such higher caliber than the rest. Kind of shocked that this elderly tiering was not really noticed and readily accepted by the movie going public.