Two sisters find their lives changed by a young man who has been washed ashore & badly injured. Upon taking him in the two wome discover the mans true origins & his talents as a gifted violinist embarking on a journey they had never imagined for themselves. Studio: Sony Pictures Home Ent Release Date: 04/24/2007 Starring: Judi Dench Natascha Mcelhone Run time: 104 minutes Rating: Pg13 Director: Charles Dance
A couple of old Dames make the slender story of Ladies in Lavender surprisingly moving. Janet and Ursula (Maggie Smith and Judi Dench), a pair of elderly sisters living on the Cornish coast, discover a young Polish man named Andrea (Daniel Bruhl, Goodbye Lenin!) washed ashore and barely alive. They nurse him back to health and discover that he's a talented violinist--a fact also recognized by a mysterious young woman (Natascha McElhone, The Truman Show), who may woo Andrea away from them. The core of the movie is not its plot but the skillful and delicate play of emotions underlying how the sisters treat Andrea; Ursula, a spinster, finds herself sliding from maternal affection to an embarrassing but irresistible schoolgirl crush. Ladies in Lavender captures something that few contemporary movies bother to consider: Older men and women are as capable of passion and desire as the young, but the young carelessly (and sometimes cruelly) disregard the old. In the hands of Dench (Shakespeare in Love, Iris) and Smith (California Suite, Gosford Park)--as well as David Warner (Time After Time) as a bitter doctor--Ladies in Lavender becomes a bit like a violin concerto itself: Discreet and subtle, but finding in the smallest movements a richness of feeling. --Bret Fetzer
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
A touching story:
This film features Judi Dench and Maggie Smith at their best. This is a touching and sad story of two sisters whose quiet and ordered world is set reeling by the arrival of a young stranger when he is washed up on the beach near their lonely cottage. During the film we get to meet many of the neighbors and friends in the area, and experience the anxiety which the boy and another newly-arrived girl engender in the inhabitants of this pre-World War II Cornish village. The setting for the story is... more info
Good Movie:
I really bought this movie because it is filmed on location in Cornwall, one of my favorite places on earth. It turned out to be an interesting story with great acting. (No suprise from Judy Densch, of course.) It is a keeper!
Delivery and opinion of DVD:
DVD delivered quickly and in good order. DVD one of my favourite. This one is a gift for a friend.
Ladies:
This had good actors in it, but the sound seemed garbled, so it was hard to understand the dialogue.
