Variety
Low on narrative drive, and marred by a misjudged final-act swerve into extravagant whimsy, Nicholas Hytner’s amiable luvvie-fest is enlivened by Smith’s signature irascibility.
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The Lady in the Van
The great Maggie Smith stars in this light-hearted true story as an elderly homeless woman who strikes up an unusual relationship with English playwright Alan Bennett (Alex Jennings, The Queen), whilst living in a van parked outside his house. Co-stars Jim Broadbent (Le Week-End), Dominic Cooper (My Week with Marilyn) and James Corden (One Chance).
2015Rating: M, Offensive language104 minsUK
DramaTrue Story & Biography
- Director:
- Nicholas Hytner ('The History Boys')
- Writer:
- Alan Bennett
- Cast:
- Maggie SmithAlex JenningsJim BroadbentDominic CooperJames CordenFrances de la Tour
The Lady in the Van / Reviews
Time Out
A wonderful Maggie Smith plays all this dead straight, poker-faced for maximum laughs.
Full reviewThe New York Times
In Ms. Smith's tough, levelheaded performance, Mary is an irascible termagant full of batty notions clutching on to life as best she can. She is hard to like, and that's good.
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The Guardian
Smith’s performance, honed from the previous stage and radio versions, is terrifically good.
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Sydney Morning Herald
Bennett offers Maggie Smith a chance to renovate her own recent persona with a woman who's heroically alive. Smith takes it with both hands, giving us more of the loneliness and despair of old age than the glib comedy.
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Rolling Stone
It's fun to watch Shepherd hate on bratty children, classical music and liberal pieties.
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Los Angeles Times
A delicately written, boisterously performed movie about the difficult people who dare us to care about them.
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Little White Lies
On the surface, The Lady in the Van is mild to a fault but - like its author - it is powered by sharp observations about life and people.
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Hollywood Reporter
It's Smith's eccentric oldster who is the film's driving force, and the 80-year-old actress doesn't disappoint.
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FilmInk
Its droll sense of sentiment makes up significantly for its so-slight smugness. A minor gem.
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Empire Magazine
Unshowy to a fault, Hytner delivers a fine, moving comedy of English manners...
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