Ladies in Lavender (2005)
Average Rating: 6.1/10
Reviews Counted: 89
Fresh: 56 | Rotten: 33
A charming, if slight, period drama that quietly showcases fine performances by its two stars.
Average Rating: 6.3/10
Critic Reviews: 29
Fresh: 19 | Rotten: 10
A charming, if slight, period drama that quietly showcases fine performances by its two stars.
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Average Rating: 3.5/5
User Ratings: 7,832
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Movie Info
Two sisters engage in a subtle war for the affections of a man half their age in this British comedy drama. It's 1936, and Janet Widdington (Maggie Smith) and her sister, Ursula (Judi Dench), are a pair of elderly spinsters who share a home in Cornwall on the coast of England. After a storm, the sisters discover that someone has been washed up on the beach in front of their house. Bringing the body inside, they discover the victim is a handsome Polish man named Andrea Marowski (Daniel Brühl) who
Cast
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Judi Dench
Ursula -
Maggie Smith
Janet -
Daniel Brühl
Andrea Marowski -
Miriam Margolyes
Dorcas -
Natascha McElhone
Olga -
David Warner
Dr. Mead -
Timothy Bateson
Mr. Hallett -
Geoffrey Bayldon
Mr. Penhaligan -
Roger Booth
Arthur -
Peter Cellier
BBC Announcer -
Alan Cox
Obsequious Man -
Joanna Dickens
Mrs. Pendered -
Freddie Jones
Jan Pendered -
Clive Russell
Adam Penruddocke -
Jimmy Yuill
Constable Timmins -
Trevor Ray
Very Old Man 1 -
Ian Marshall de Garnier
Fisherman -
Toby Jones
Hedley -
Finty Williams
Pretty Local Girl -
Gregor Henderson-Begg
Luke Pendered -
-
-
-
Joshua Bell
Violin -
Richard Pears
Barry -
John Boswell
Very Old Man 2 -
Rebecca Hulbert
Fiance -
-
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Ladies in Lavender Trailer & Photos
All Critics (98) | Top Critics (32) | Fresh (57) | Rotten (34) | DVD (8)
It's a British period piece, full of the sylvan Cornish coast and countryside, vintage motorcars, steam threshers and sensibilities. Pity they left out a compelling plot.
Top CriticA fascinating and involving chamber piece for two superb actresses.
A wistful little thing about regret, jealousy and love.
Under Dance's sure hand, and the even surer performances of Smith and Dench, who know that underplaying an emotion often increases its punch, the film is a small study in the dignity of letting go.
A funny, civilized little romantic drama in which Smith co-stars with the equally estimable Judi Dench.
As long as Dench or Smith is on the screen there's plenty to absorb one's interest.
Smith is rather wasted...Perhaps if the actresses had exchanged roles, this pallid palette would have had more emotional color.
One wonders how much of their performances came from Dance's direction and how much came from the actresses themselves, but what counts is what is there on the screen, which is more than satisfactory.
As writer Gertrude Stein once remarked, 'We are all the same age inside,' and this film proves it.
Filled with wonderful music and magnificent, subtle acting. The story, however, goes nowhere at a glacial pace.
Maggie Smith and Judi Dench are a great duo, but the film isn't so great.
Remaining locked in Ursula and Janet's fantasies, Ladies in Lavender evades complexity with monomania.
Dance is so tentative and tasteful in his direction that he never draws out the underlying emotions beneath the polite exteriors.
There's something irresistibly admirable about Dance's decision to make a film based on a short story by a long-out-of-favor writer like William J. Locke.
...such a civilized and handsome film that we might be willing to forgive its lack of drama
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Foreign Titles
- Der Duft von Lavendel (DE)
- Les Dames de Cornouailles (FR)
