The Lady in the Van: Review

Since moving back to Bristol and moving into a house of film students I've been watching so many films it's become increasingly difficult to keep up with this blog!

Every other day I've been watching something new or re-watching something I haven't in a while to the point where I've built up quite the back catalogue of films to talk about.

I was wondering if I should write about them in the order I watched them but the truth is that I REALLY just want to write about this one. While the other films have been entertaining and interesting in their own right this one stands out to me as the one I enjoyed the most and could quite happily watch again.

I love this film! It hits my sweet spot of witty humour, pathos and brilliant acting. Between this and The History Boys I think I may be turning into a bit of an Alan Bennett fan.

The Lady in the Van is based on a (mostly) true story from Alan Bennett's memoir about an elderly homeless woman who comes into his drive for a few weeks and ends up staying there for 15 years. The story was first turned into a stage play and the wonderful Maggie Smith has played the titular Lady in both the stage and screen versions. Her performance is absolutely incredible. Her delivery and comedic timing is what truly elevates this film from something good to something fantastic.

Playing opposite her as Alan Bennett is Alex Jennings who plays two versions of the famous writer. There is the self that writes and the self that does the living and throughout the film these two versions of Bennett talk to each other as they decide what to do about the cantankerous old woman. There is a struggle throughout the film between Bennett's conscience as he wrestles with using his mother for material while he refuses to write about Miss Sheppard. The parallel between his mother who he put into a care home and Miss Sheppard who he lets live in his front drive raises a lot of questions about the way we care for and treat the elderly.

The film also has an interesting perspective on charity as the residents of the street try to be generous to Miss Sheppard, not for her benefit but more to resolve their own guilt and sense of privilege. Their annoyance at Miss Sheppard's lack of thanks shows that their acts of charity are more in pursuit of praise than they are in help.

The film is consistently funny and heartfelt throughout as Bennett tries to wrangle some truth out of his unconventional lodger. Part of me wishes that the film had not started with the opening scene which gives away a big hint to Miss Sheppard's past which would have made the mystery of her more intriguing.

A detail that I really appreciated after watching The History Boys is that all the actors from that film get cameos. After over ten years since they were in the stage show, it was a nice touch seeing all the guys return to play hommage to Bennett's work especially since all their careers have taken them to great heights.

I also really loved the meta aspect to it as the real Alan Bennett cycles in at the end to watch the filming of the final scene.

It's quirky, funny, the acting is phenomenal and I enjoyed every minute of it. I'll keep this review nice and short since I have plenty more to get through but I can't recommend this film enough!

9/10