Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont

The new British drama Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont undoubtedly invites comparisons to the daring Harold and Maude, directed by Hal Ashby in 1971. But while both films center on the tender relationship between a young man and an elderly woman, that is truly where their similarities end. Harold and Maude was audacious, well-written, and funny. Mrs. Palfrey eschews provocative sexuality in favor of a more broadly appealing tale of intergenerational understanding and a quiet message that says the past is gone.

Joan Plowright plays the lead in the film, Mrs. Palfrey, a widow who moves to a London hotel for older adults called The Claremont. The first quarter of the film focuses on her adjustment to life in the hotel with it's depressingly casual style and her host of stereotypically eccentric elderly neighbors. Most of the other players here are deficient in their acting abilities and this shows up strongly against Plowright's excellent performance.

As the film moves along, it becomes less stereotypical and more moving. Mrs. Palfrey has a fall on the street and she is helped by a young writer named Ludovic Mayer (Rupert Friend). After he cares for her and helps her home, she invited him to dinner at the Claremont. A misunderstanding leads her neighbors to believe that he is her grandson Desmond - a busy young man who never visits her, and so the web of lies begins.

Friend, who you may have seen recently in Pride and Prejudice as Mr. Wickham, is an odd choice for this role. His striking looks make it difficult to see him as an average Londoner who happened into Mrs. Palfrey's life randomly. He just looks like an actor or a model and unfortunately his acting abilities can't prevent the distraction this causes. As already mentioned, Plowright is wonderful and she really carries the film, but it is unclear who's story this actually is.

Writer Ruth Sacks, who adapted the script from a book by Elizabeth Taylor, seems conflicted on this very point. While Ludovic narrates the film, the actual action takes place in Mrs. Palfrey's world, often without Ludovic present. Although it is made clear that the young man is writing about his adoptive grandmother, somehow this device does not really work. Instead, his voice-over rings false, overly poetic, and ultimately disconnected from what we're actually witnessing.

Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont is a quiet, pleasant film. It is the sort of thing that one should really see in a theater, as it will not command attention at home on video. It is quite moving at times and it serves to connect people rather than to point out our differences.

Director Dan Ireland, who is more well-known for his producing work, is not the most cinematic of directors. In this film, he seems to prefer relying upon tried and true conventions and quiet storytelling. The result is a rather ordinary film.