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      The Lady in the Van

      PG-13 Released Feb 19, 2016 1 hr. 44 min. Biography Drama Comedy TRAILER for The Lady in the Van: Trailer 1 List
      89% 151 Reviews Tomatometer 64% 10,000+ Ratings Audience Score In 1973 London, playwright Alan Bennett (Alex Jennings) develops an unlikely friendship with Miss Shepherd (Maggie Smith), a homeless woman who lives in a van in his driveway for the next 15 years. Read More Read Less Watch on Fandango at Home Premiered Apr 09 Buy Now

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      The Lady in the Van

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      Critics Consensus

      Led by a marvelous performance from Maggie Smith, Lady in the Van wrings poignant, often hilarious insight from its fact-based source material.

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      Audience Reviews

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      Butterfly Fantastic film. Watched it a few times now and always makes me cry at the end. She's a fabulous actress and I loved how she painted her van with a loo brush. Excellent film Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/08/24 Full Review Mateusz C odd but in good meaning of this word Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 06/14/23 Full Review Rob W Second try to watch I get about half way through. Then my fight or flight instinct kick in and it gets turned off then I feel elation. Dreary tale, dreary cinematography. But the lovies somehow rate it because of Bennett. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 08/29/22 Full Review phillip j Major miss. Not even an engaging concept. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review matthew d A pleasant and touching picture with charm. English director Nicholas Hytner, of The Crucible and The Madness of King George fame, delivers a quaint British comedy-drama called The Lady in the Van (2015). It's often humorous, but never hilarious. It boasts a talented cast delivering writer Alan Bennett's dry British sense of humor and thoughtful dialogue with a wry charisma. I found The Lady in the Van charming, but quite depressing. It's essentially about a crazy homeless woman who bums off a far too kind playwright as she lives on his driveway in her van for 15 years. Her rude comments and general stubborn nature are really off-putting and make you hate her on some level, despite feeling sorry for her pathetic existence. You try to find empathy, but she's very easy to hate. The Lady in the Van is worth a watch, but I doubt I'll come back to its indie charms again. Nicholas Hytner's direction has the interesting angle of having two Bennett's speaking to himself as the man who writes and the man who lives his life. It's fun and a pretty looking movie, but lacks drive to keep your interest with more humor in an otherwise very sad story. Editor Tariq Anwar could have cut this a bit faster as The Lady in the Van is only 104 minutes, but feels much longer with slower dramatic scenes that start to drag. Andrew Dunn's cinematography is rather creative and striking for an ordinary comedy-drama. Maggie Smith is great as Miss Mary Shepherd with her stubborn and impersonal manner. She's mean, rude, arrogant, and distrusting, but this all adds up to a compelling dramatic performance. Alex Jennings is gripping as both versions of Alan Bennett. His offhand remarks are funny and he's generally very likable. He does feel far too timid, patient, and kind beyond reason. Clare Hammond is intriguing as a young Margaret Fairchild being a disobedient nun and a virtuoso pianist. Roger Allam's Rufus and Deborah Findlay's Pauline are funny as the nosy and frustrated neighbors. Gwen Taylor's moving and fastidious Mum is interesting. Frances de la Tour is engaging and fun as Ursula Vaughan Williams with her good and understanding nature. Jim Broadbent feels lecherous as Underwood the blackmailer. Claire Foy is so cute as Lois, a noble social worker, who is trying to help. Composer George Fenton wrote a charming score, but the most interesting musical passages come from the lively classical pieces played throughout The Lady in the Van. In all, I wish this were better and funnier, but it's got a fine charm overall. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review rose d Whilst I understand this movie is a tribute to the real-life lady in the van, I came away with two thoughts. First, what an incredibly sad story. Second, why immortalize such a story? If the movie is accurate, near the beginning there is a hit and run accident in which the titular lady was not at fault. However, incorrectly believing that she is to blame for the accident, the lady inflicts upon herself a far greater punishment than she could have received at the hands of the justice system. On the run from the police, she ostracizes herself from society and for the next thirty years lives as a tramp in a van. My feelings are: if she'd only had the strength to face up to her involvement in the accident, she would have been found innocent and so not lived in fear as a hobo for the rest of her life. What a very silly and sad woman. Not my thing. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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      The Lady in the Van

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      The Lady in the Van

      Maggie Smith as Miss. Shepherd in "The Lady in the Van." (L-R) Maggie Smith as Miss. Shepherd and Alex Jennings as Alan Bennett in "The Lady in the Van." Maggie Smith as Miss. Shepherd in "The Lady in the Van." Maggie Smith as Miss. Shepherd in "The Lady in the Van." Alex Jennings as Alan Bennett in "The Lady in the Van." (L-R) Alex Jennings as Alan Bennett and Maggie Smith as Miss. Shepherd in "The Lady in the Van." (L-R) Deborah Findlay as Pauline, Roger Allam as Rufus and Maggie Smith as Miss. Shepherd in "The Lady in the Van." (L-R) Maggie Smith as Miss. Shepherd and Alex Jennings as Alan Bennett in "The Lady in the Van." Maggie Smith as Miss. Shepherd in "The Lady in the Van." (L-R) Maggie Smith as Miss. Shepherd and Alex Jennings as Alan Bennett in "The Lady in the Van." View more photos

      Critics Reviews

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      Roxana Hadadi Chesapeake Family Magazine The Lady in the Van follows a fairly typical old-people-are-more-than-they-seem storyline ... The bizarreness of this true story is underplayed. Rated: 2.5/5 Aug 2, 2016 Full Review Sandra Hall Sydney Morning Herald She's not easy to love and the film is slow-going and a little laboured in its attempts to shape her idiosyncrasies into a plot, but the gradual revelation of the reasons for her decline give Smith plenty of opportunities to soften her grouchiness. Rated: 3/5 Mar 4, 2016 Full Review Paul Byrnes 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. Rated: 4/5 Mar 4, 2016 Full Review Hosea Rupprecht Pauline Center for Media Studies The Lady in the Van shows us that respect and kindness is always the right way to go. Sep 13, 2021 Full Review Richard Crouse Richard Crouse A character study of a difficult person contained in a movie that often errs on the side of sentiment, particularly in its fanciful final moments, but avoids caricature. Rated: 3/5 Feb 3, 2021 Full Review Debbie Lynn Elias Behind The Lens Warm, witty and wonderful, The Lady In The Van (and the Dame) is a pure delight! Nov 29, 2019 Full Review Read all reviews

      Movie Info

      Synopsis In 1973 London, playwright Alan Bennett (Alex Jennings) develops an unlikely friendship with Miss Shepherd (Maggie Smith), a homeless woman who lives in a van in his driveway for the next 15 years.
      Director
      Nicholas Hytner
      Executive Producer
      Christine Langan, Ed Wethered, Miles Ketley, Charles Moore
      Screenwriter
      Alan Bennett
      Distributor
      Sony Pictures Classics
      Production Co
      BBC Films, Dream Cars, TriStar Pictures
      Rating
      PG-13 (A Brief Unsettling Image)
      Genre
      Biography, Drama, Comedy
      Original Language
      English (United Kingdom)
      Release Date (Theaters)
      Feb 19, 2016, Wide
      Release Date (Streaming)
      Aug 10, 2016
      Box Office (Gross USA)
      $10.0M
      Sound Mix
      Dolby Digital
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