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Ladies in Lavender. (2004)
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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writers:
Release Date:
12 November 2004 (UK)
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Tagline:
The story of two sisters who saved a stranger, and the stranger who stole their hearts. more
Plot:
Two sisters befriend a mysterious foreigner who washes up on the beach of their 1930's Cornish seaside village. full summary | add synopsis
Awards:
2 nominations
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NewsDesk:
User Comments:
'If music be the language of love, play on!' : A Fairy Tale
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Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only) | Judi Dench | ... | Ursula |
 | Maggie Smith | ... | Janet |
 | Daniel Brühl | ... | Andrea |
 | Freddie Jones | ... | Jan Pendered |
| Gregor Henderson-Begg | ... | Luke Pendered |
 | Miriam Margolyes | ... | Dorcas |
| David Warner | ... | Dr. Francis Mead |
| Clive Russell | ... | Adam Penruddocke |
 | Richard Pears | ... | Barry |
 | Natascha McElhone | ... | Olga Daniloff |
| Iain Marshall | ... | Fisherman (as Ian Marshall) |
| Toby Jones | ... | Hedley |
| Trevor Ray | ... | Very Old Man 1 |
| John Boswall | ... | Very Old Man 2 |
| Joanna Dickens | ... | Mrs. Pendered |
Additional Details
MPAA:
Rated PG-13 for brief strong language.
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
104 min | Australia:99 min | Australia:103 min (theatrical version) | Argentina:103 min
Country:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Certification:
Germany:o.Al. |
Mexico:B |
France:U |
Brazil:Livre |
Canada:PG (Ontario) |
Argentina:13 |
Sweden:Btl |
Finland:K-7 |
South Korea:All |
Singapore:PG |
Australia:M |
Ireland:PG |
Spain:T |
UK:12A |
USA:PG-13 |
New Zealand:M
Filming Locations:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
This film marked the first English-language role for continental actor Daniel Brühl.
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Goofs:
Continuity: When Andrea is playing the concert in London, in some shots you can see that a hair on his bow has come off and is hanging loosely, in the next shot all the hairs on the bow are in their correct position.
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Quotes:
[Dorcas stuffs a chicken while Janet listens to the radio in the next room and Andrea practices upstairs. Janet turns off the radio and comes into the kitchen]
Janet Widdington: Doesn't sound good. I can't listen anymore.
Dorcas: Don't know how you can stand it. Sounds like a strangled cat.
Janet Widdington: I meant the news!
Dorcas: Oh, right.
Janet Widdington: Do we have any parsnips?
Dorcas: Bit early for parsnips. Plenty of spuds, though.
Janet Widdington: Well, we shall have to have extra spuds. Potatoes.
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Janet Widdington: Doesn't sound good. I can't listen anymore.
Dorcas: Don't know how you can stand it. Sounds like a strangled cat.
Janet Widdington: I meant the news!
Dorcas: Oh, right.
Janet Widdington: Do we have any parsnips?
Dorcas: Bit early for parsnips. Plenty of spuds, though.
Janet Widdington: Well, we shall have to have extra spuds. Potatoes.
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Movie Connections:
Referenced in The Best Man (2005)
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Soundtrack:
Fuga from Sonata No.1 in G Minor BWV 1001
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FAQ
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Short stories often make better films than full novels as is evident in the case of JD Locke's 'Ladies in Lavender' as adapted for the screen and directed by the multi-talented Charles Dance. Given the barest outline of a quiet little idea of a 'fairy tale', LADIES IN LAVENDER becomes an unfolding meditation of quiet lives altered by an incident that awakens sleeping needs and emotions.
Ursula (Judi Dench) and Janet (Maggie Smith) are elderly sisters living a quiet life of gardening, strolling the cliffs and beach of Cornwall, knitting, and reading. Their bumpy housekeeper Dorcas (Miriam Margolyes) cooks, cleans, shops, and chatters in a wonderful Cornish brogue, allowing the sisters to live an otherwise isolated life - isolated from history, personal emotions, and vulnerabilities. After a storm Ursula spies a figure on the beach below their home and the two descend to find an unconscious handsome young man whom they rescue, house, nurture, mend a broken ankle and ultimately become doting adorers. The young man Andrea (Daniel Brühl) finally awakens, speaks no English as he is Polish, and his charming ways attract inner emotions in both sisters. Janet studies some German and is able to speak with Andreas, while Ursula pastes English words on items in his room to teach him English. He mends and it is discovered that he is a concert violinist who was shipwrecked while striving to go to America. A Russian visitor to the town, Olga (Natascha McElhone), the requisite 'evil witch' for a fairy tale, hears Andreas play, informs him she has a cousin who is a famous violinist, and attracts him away from Cornwall to London where he ultimately gives his own concert.
Those are the bare facts of the film's story. The magic lies not in the story itself but in the submerged feelings of the two sisters. Ursula, having never been in love in her youth, falls in love with Andrea, fully aware that there is no possibility of consummation. She feels long desired emotional attachment to the lad and the stirring in her breast is overwhelming to her. Janet, who once loved but lost that love to death, likewise falls for Andrea. It is this sibling rivalry over the passion for Andrea that provides some of the most touching and understated brilliant acting moments ever recorded on film. There is a scene where, resting from a stroll on the cliffs, Andrea rests with his head on Ursula's lap, perhaps the first physical contact with a man she has ever known, and the gentility of the slow and reticent placement of her hand on Andrea's resting head is a crystal of acting magic. How the sisters cope with this time with Andrea and his eventual leaving for his career is the climax of the film. And touching and understated it is.
Judi Dench and Maggie Smith give pitch perfect characterizations, creating two lovely beings we will never forget. Likewise Daniel Brühl is superb in a role far different from his usual German repertoire (Goodbye Lenin!, The Edukators, Love in Thoughts) and manages to create the illusion that he is actually playing the violin (while the true artist is Joshua Bell in some stunning performances). The atmosphere of Cornwall is magically captured by Dance and his cinematographer Peter Biziou with assistance from Ed Rutherford. Nigel Hess has written a musical score, incorporating well-known classical violin works as well as his own hauntingly beautiful music that adds immeasurably to the film's success.
LADIES IN LAVENDER is not a major blockbuster of a success nor does it try to be. It is simply a exquisitely crafted and acted fairy tale that gently reminds us that age does not prevent the heart from responding to that most beautiful of emotions, Love. Highly recommended. Grady Harp