Ladies in Lavender. (2004)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Charles Dance

Writers:

William J. Locke (short story)
Charles Dance (written by)

Release Date:

12 November 2004 (UK)

Genre:

Drama | Music | Romance

Tagline:

The story of two sisters who saved a stranger, and the stranger who stole their hearts.

Plot:

Two sisters befriend a mysterious foreigner who washes up on the beach of their 1930's Cornish seaside village.

Plot Keywords:

Beach | Cottage | Storm | 1930s | Foreigner

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Judi Dench	...	Ursula
Maggie Smith	...	Janet
Daniel Brühl	...	Andrea
Freddie Jones	...	Jan Pendered
Gregor Henderson-Begg	...	Luke Pendered
Miriam Margolyes	...	Dorcas
David Warner	...	Dr. Francis Mead
Clive Russell	...	Adam Penruddocke
Richard Pears	...	Barry
Natascha McElhone	...	Olga Daniloff
Iain Marshall	...	Fisherman (as Ian Marshall)
Toby Jones	...	Hedley
Trevor Ray	...	Very Old Man 1
John Boswall	...	Very Old Man 2
Joanna Dickens	...	Mrs. Pendered

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for brief strong language.

Runtime:

104 min | Australia:99 min | Australia:103 min (theatrical version) | Argentina:103 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English | German | Polish | French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Germany:o.Al. | Mexico:B | France:U | Brazil:Livre | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Argentina:13 | Sweden:Btl | Finland:K-7 | South Korea:All | Singapore:PG | Australia:M | Ireland:PG | Spain:T | UK:12A | USA:PG-13 | New Zealand:M

Filming Locations:

Cadgwith, Cornwall, England, UK

Company:

UK Film Council

Trivia:

The idea to do Ladies in Lavender came to Charles Dance as he worked on the film Black and White (2002); he was reading a volume of short stories by William J Locke entitled "Faraway Stories".

Goofs:

Continuity: When Andrea is playing the concert in London, in some shots you can see that a hair on his bow has come off and is hanging loosely, in the next shot all the hairs on the bow are in their correct position.

Quotes:

[Ursula sits by Andrea's bed, watching him sleep. Dorcas bursts in]
Dorcas: Tea.
Ursula Widdington: Shhh!
Dorcas: [she glances at Andrea, then says just as loudly,] Do you want tea?
Ursula Widdington: [whispering] Shh! You'll wake him up! I think I'll wait until Janet gets up from her nap.
Dorcas: Well, she's up.
Ursula Widdington: [still whispering] Is she? She hasn't been long. All right, I'll be down directly.
[she turns back to Andrea]
Dorcas: He isn't gonna run off.
[Ursula shoots her a look. Dorcas slams the door as she leaves, waking Andrea]

Movie Connections:

References The Color Purple (1985)

Soundtrack:

Carnival of Venice

'If music be the language of love, play on!' : A Fairy Tale

Short stories often make better films than full novels as is evident in the case of JD Locke's 'Ladies in Lavender' as adapted for the screen and directed by the multi-talented Charles Dance. Given the barest outline of a quiet little idea of a 'fairy tale', LADIES IN LAVENDER becomes an unfolding meditation of quiet lives altered by an incident that awakens sleeping needs and emotions.

Ursula (Judi Dench) and Janet (Maggie Smith) are elderly sisters living a quiet life of gardening, strolling the cliffs and beach of Cornwall, knitting, and reading. Their bumpy housekeeper Dorcas (Miriam Margolyes) cooks, cleans, shops, and chatters in a wonderful Cornish brogue, allowing the sisters to live an otherwise isolated life - isolated from history, personal emotions, and vulnerabilities. After a storm Ursula spies a figure on the beach below their home and the two descend to find an unconscious handsome young man whom they rescue, house, nurture, mend a broken ankle and ultimately become doting adorers. The young man Andrea (Daniel Brühl) finally awakens, speaks no English as he is Polish, and his charming ways attract inner emotions in both sisters. Janet studies some German and is able to speak with Andreas, while Ursula pastes English words on items in his room to teach him English. He mends and it is discovered that he is a concert violinist who was shipwrecked while striving to go to America. A Russian visitor to the town, Olga (Natascha McElhone), the requisite 'evil witch' for a fairy tale, hears Andreas play, informs him she has a cousin who is a famous violinist, and attracts him away from Cornwall to London where he ultimately gives his own concert.

Those are the bare facts of the film's story. The magic lies not in the story itself but in the submerged feelings of the two sisters. Ursula, having never been in love in her youth, falls in love with Andrea, fully aware that there is no possibility of consummation. She feels long desired emotional attachment to the lad and the stirring in her breast is overwhelming to her. Janet, who once loved but lost that love to death, likewise falls for Andrea. It is this sibling rivalry over the passion for Andrea that provides some of the most touching and understated brilliant acting moments ever recorded on film. There is a scene where, resting from a stroll on the cliffs, Andrea rests with his head on Ursula's lap, perhaps the first physical contact with a man she has ever known, and the gentility of the slow and reticent placement of her hand on Andrea's resting head is a crystal of acting magic. How the sisters cope with this time with Andrea and his eventual leaving for his career is the climax of the film. And touching and understated it is.

Judi Dench and Maggie Smith give pitch perfect characterizations, creating two lovely beings we will never forget. Likewise Daniel Brühl is superb in a role far different from his usual German repertoire (Goodbye Lenin!, The Edukators, Love in Thoughts) and manages to create the illusion that he is actually playing the violin (while the true artist is Joshua Bell in some stunning performances). The atmosphere of Cornwall is magically captured by Dance and his cinematographer Peter Biziou with assistance from Ed Rutherford. Nigel Hess has written a musical score, incorporating well-known classical violin works as well as his own hauntingly beautiful music that adds immeasurably to the film's success.

LADIES IN LAVENDER is not a major blockbuster of a success nor does it try to be. It is simply a exquisitely crafted and acted fairy tale that gently reminds us that age does not prevent the heart from responding to that most beautiful of emotions, Love. Highly recommended. Grady Harp