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Ladies in Lavender (2005)

tomatometer

63

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.

63

Average Rating: 6.3/10
Critic Reviews: 27
Fresh: 17 | Rotten: 10

A charming, if slight, period drama that quietly showcases fine performances by its two stars.

audience

65

liked it
Average Rating: 3.5/5
User Ratings: 7,585

My Rating

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

PG-13, 1 hr. 44 min.

Drama, Comedy

William J. Locke, Charles Dance

Dec 6, 2005

$6.5M

IDP

Cast

All Critics (98) | Top Critics (29) | 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.

July 8, 2005 Full Review Source: Orlando Sentinel | Comment
Orlando Sentinel
Top Critic IconTop Critic

A fascinating and involving chamber piece for two superb actresses.

June 4, 2005 Full Review Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution | Comment
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Top Critic IconTop Critic

A wistful little thing about regret, jealousy and love.

June 2, 2005 Comment
Philadelphia Inquirer
Top Critic IconTop Critic

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.

May 27, 2005 Full Review Source: Washington Post | Comment
Washington Post
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A funny, civilized little romantic drama in which Smith co-stars with the equally estimable Judi Dench.

May 27, 2005 Full Review Source: Washington Post | Comment
Washington Post
Top Critic IconTop Critic

As long as Dench or Smith is on the screen there's plenty to absorb one's interest.

May 27, 2005 Full Review Source: Toronto Star | Comment
Toronto Star
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Smith is rather wasted...Perhaps if the actresses had exchanged roles, this pallid palette would have had more emotional color.

March 1, 2007 Full Review Source: Film Journal International | Comment
Film Journal International

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.

May 2, 2006 Full Review Source: european-films.net | Comment
european-films.net

As writer Gertrude Stein once remarked, 'We are all the same age inside,' and this film proves it.

December 3, 2005 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis | Comment
Movie Metropolis

Filled with wonderful music and magnificent, subtle acting. The story, however, goes nowhere at a glacial pace.

September 19, 2005 Full Review Source: Laramie Movie Scope | Comment
Laramie Movie Scope

Maggie Smith and Judi Dench are a great duo, but the film isn't so great.

August 12, 2005 Comment

Remaining locked in Ursula and Janet's fantasies, Ladies in Lavender evades complexity with monomania.

August 9, 2005 Full Review | Comment

Dance is so tentative and tasteful in his direction that he never draws out the underlying emotions beneath the polite exteriors.

July 28, 2005 Full Review | Comment
Capital Times (Madison, WI)

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.

July 20, 2005 Full Review Source: Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) | Comment
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

...such a civilized and handsome film that we might be willing to forgive its lack of drama

July 15, 2005 Full Review Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette | Comment
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Ladies in Lavender

Ladies in Lavender is a gentle and pleasant film, full of good nature and subtlety. Although it may not blow you away, the performances by Judi Dench and Maggie Smith are exquisite. You could be fooled into thinking you were watching a couple of 18 year old girls, that is how convincing their performances are. Charles

December 1, 2010
SirPant

Super Reviewer

It doesn't take us any effort to understand the genuine fascination caused by the mysterious, handsome young man played by Daniel Brühl, but one should only watch this unremarkable British drama for the superb performances by Judi Dench and Maggie Smith.

August 22, 2010
blacksheepboy

Super Reviewer

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Foreign Titles

  • Der Duft von Lavendel (DE)
  • Les Dames de Cornouailles (FR)
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