My Old Lady. Rated M (mature themes). 107 minutes. Written
and directed by Israel Horovitz.
Verdict: Three
great performances help this turgid tale of tormented family secrets over the
line.
Making his feature
film directorial debut at the grand age of 75 makes celebrated playwright
Israel Horovitz a unique creative individual. For the occasion, he has adapted
his stage play for the screen and cast three superb leading actors – Maggie
Smith, Kevin Kline and Kristin Scott Thomas – in what is essentially a
three-hander about secrets that haunt the lives of the main characters.
Mathias’ (Kline)
life is a complete failure. He is a broke, recovering alcoholic with three
unpublished novels and three failed marriages to match. When his estranged
father dies, Mathias inherits an apartment in Paris. He travels to France
immediately to arrange for the apartment to be sold, only to discover that it
is let to Mathilde (Smith) under the ‘viager’ system, where tenants can stay in
their apartments ‘for life’. When Mathias meets Mathilde’s adult daughter Chloé
(Scott Thomas), sparks fly as the damaged pair battle to defend their right of
ownership over the apartment.
Lovers of Paris
and human drama, with a romantic flourish, will adore this film. Horovitz
certainly lays the emotional baggage on with a trowel, but his cast respond
brilliantly under his incisive direction that belies his complete lack of
experience as a film director. It is impossible to take your eyes off the irrepressible
Smith, who is currently winning new legions of fans as a result of her work in
Downtown Abbey.
Kline, who made a
name for himself with breakout turns in The Big Chill (1983) and A Fish Called
Wanda (1988), has been absent from the screen for a decade. And while the
screenplay overplays its hand where his tormented past is concerned, it is an
undeniable joy to watch Kline rage against the bottle, the women, and the
circumstances that stand in the way of him achieving some sense of closure from
what was an incredibly tragic childhood.
This review was
commissioned by the West Australian Newspaper Group.
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