Film Review: My Old Lady

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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 He is a broke, recovering alcoholic with three unpublished novels and three failed marriages to match.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.