Mrs Palfrey at The Claremont (2005)

All but abandoned by her family in a London retirement hotel, an elderly woman strikes up a curious friendship with a young writer.

Director:

Dan Ireland

Writers:

Martin Donovan (additional dialogue), Dan Ireland (additional dialogue),

Stars:

Joan Plowright, Rupert Friend, Zoë Tapper

2 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Joan Plowright	...	Mrs. Palfrey
Rupert Friend	...	Ludo / The Writer
Zoë Tapper	...	Gwendolyn
Robert Lang	...	Mr. Osborne
Marcia Warren	...	Mrs. Post
Anna Massey	...	Mrs. Arbuthnot
Georgina Hale	...	Mrs. Burton
Millicent Martin	...	Mrs. De Salis
Michael Culkin	...	Willie
Emma Pike	...	Violet
Carl Proctor	...	Manager
Timothy Bateson	...	Summers
Sophie Linfield	...	Rosie
Lorcan O'Toole	...	Desmond
Clare Higgins	...	Mrs. Meyer

Storyline

Mrs. Palfrey, recently widowed after a long happy marriage, moves into a London residential hotel more lively and elegant on line than in fact. She determines to make the best of it among an odd assortment of people, and she particularly hopes her grandson, a London resident, will visit. When she slips on a walk and is aided by a penniless young writer, she invites him to dine at the Claremont and plays along when her dining mates assume he's her grandson. A friendship develops giving her a companion with whom she can talk about memories and poetry and giving him ideas and support for his writing. But what of her actual family? How it plays out is the movie's story.

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Plot Keywords:

friendship | writer | hotel | grandson | penniless | 

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Taglines:

If you enjoyed Ladies in Lavender, you'll adore Mrs. Palfrey!!!

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Former Official site - no longer active as of October 2012 Official soundtrack label

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 May 2008 (Argentina)

Also Known As:

Claremont Hotel

Filming Locations:

Westminster, London, England, UK

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$105,185 (New Zealand) (25 August 2006)

Gross:

$1,054,535 (New Zealand) (13 October 2006)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cineville, Picture Entertainment Corporation, Claremont Films LLC

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The song sung by Georgina Hale within the movie: "It's Never Too Late To Fall In Love" was also sung by Hale in Ken Russell's The Boy Friend.

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Crazy Credits

One of the crew credits: Best Boy (Girl)

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Connections

References The Sexy Mysterious Murders (2000)

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Soundtracks

"For All We Know"
Music by J. Fred Coots (as Fred J Coots), lyrics by Sam Lewis (as M Sammel Lewis).
Performed by Rupert Friend
Published by Cromwell Music Inc. & Toy Town Tunes Inc.
By arrangement with Concord Records

User Reviews

Beautifully Trapped In A Terence Rattigan Play

I went into the Paris Theatre in New York last night, more as a refuge from the merciless weather that anything else. What a wonderful and unexpected surprise. Joan Plowright plays a widow who decides to live her last years of her life as an independent woman in a small retirement hotel in London. I'm not sure if she knew that independence sometimes means loneliness but she learns soon enough as loneliness becomes her constant companion. Her only grandson never calls, in fact nobody ever calls her. A fortuitous encounter with a young struggling writer will change her life as she will change his. This beautiful and seemingly simple story is filled with startling gems. Joan Plowright very much at the heart of the piece gives a multi-layered performance that never falls into sentimentality. Rupert Friend (Ludo, the struggling writer) is a perfect foil for the world she protectively stores in her brain and in her heart. The humor and the superb performances by the elderly guests of the hotel is a breath of fresh vintage air. When Ruper Friend meets Dame Joan's friends at the hotel, he exclaims "We're trapped in a Terence Rattigan play" Yes you are, beautifully so