Enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. Despite thinking very highly of Maggie Smith, Alex Jennings and Jim Broadbent et al, considering Alan Bennett a talented writer and liking previous work by Nicholas Hytner and George Fenton, the title was not particularly appealing to me, likewise with the subject matter based on a true story unfamiliar to me.
What a pleasant surprise though. Although not a great film and having its faults, 'The Lady in the Van' is a good film with a lot to like and perfect for a rainy day or wanting to let your hair down and relax in the evening. A strong example of not judging a film by its title. Whether 'The Lady in the Van' will garner a wide audience is hard to tell, it is very quintessentially British with a subject matter that perhaps a lot of people won't know much about to properly connect with and the script is written in a style that will work for some and not for others.
'The Lady in the Van' does have its flaws. The length of the film is longer than necessary for a story that is somewhat thin, meaning that there is some draggy pacing in the second half and some resolutions take too long to get there and feel too conveniently wrapped up.
On top of that, the ending, despite having a genuinely moving build-up, seemed to be an attempt at pathos and being uplifting but ended up feeling clumsy, confusing and almost like a cheat (almost like the rest of the film didn't happen). Jim Broadbent's scenes didn't work for me either, they just felt out of place in the film and jar tonally and while Broadbent is a great actor he isn't particularly memorable here.
However, 'The Lady in the Van' is beautifully filmed and handsomely produced, while George Fenton's music score is gentle and sometimes quirky and fits ideally with the film's mood. It also incorporates and arranges pre-existing classical music with ease, the use of Chopin's first piano concerto being the most striking and giving a real sense of pathos. There was the worry as to whether the humour would not feel right and do justice to a story that is quite tragic in a way.
No worries there. The script, with Bennett's style written all over it, is subversive, thought-provoking in how its messaging and what it's trying (and succeeds) to say is conveyed and full of very sharp scathing witticisms, do admit to laughing out loud a number of times. Hytner's direction is understated but always with a sense that he knows what he's doing and where to go.
Maggie Smith is truly magnificent here and worthy of some kind of award nod. Her character easily could have been an annoying caricature, especially in lesser hands, but Smith is often funny and deliciously batty but also gives the character a vulnerability. Alex Jennings is similarly marvellous and also deserving of award recognition, nailing Bennett's nuances, rhythm and how he speaks to a tee. The whole alter ego stuff is obvious early on and it is not always easy who is the real Bennett and who is the alter ego (only occasionally though), but that is in no way an issue, actually it was part of the fun. The chemistry between them is a joy and they work very well with the rest of the cast, who also do very well with some familiar and welcome faces.
On the whole, a very pleasant surprise and much better than expected. 7/10 Bethany Cox
