Ladies in Lavender (2004)

Two sisters befriend a mysterious foreigner who washes up on the beach of their 1930's Cornish seaside village.

Director:

Charles Dance

Writers:

William J. Locke (short story), Charles Dance

Stars:

Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Daniel Brühl

3 nominations.

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

Storyline

Taking place in pre-war England, aging sisters Ursula and Janet live peacefully in their cottage on the shore of Cornwall. One morning following a violent storm, the sisters spot from their garden a nearly-drowned man lying on the beach. They nurse him back to health, and discover that he is Polish. Communicating in broken German while they teach him English, they learn his name is Andrea and that he is a particularly gifted violinist. His boat was on its way to America, where he is headed to look for a better life. It doesn't take long for them to become attached to Andrea, and they dote on him. Other townspeople, however, have their suspicions, especially when he befriends a Russian woman, Olga.

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Plot Keywords:

suspicion | russian | violinist | cornwall | violin | 

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Taglines:

The story of two sisters who saved a stranger, and the stranger who stole their hearts.

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Genres:

Drama | Music | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for brief strong language

Details

Official Sites:

Filmax [Spain]

Country:

UK

Language:

English German Polish French

Release Date:

27 May 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

A levendula illata

Filming Locations:

Cadgwith, Cornwall, England, UK

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

£423,313 (United Kingdom), 14 November 2004, Limited Release

Opening Weekend USA:

$149,224, 1 May 2005, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$6,759,422, 30 October 2005

Company Credits

Production Co:

UK Film Council, Baker Street, Future Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min 103 min (theatrical)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Maggie Smith and Judi Dench were performing together in a West End play when they received the scripts. They consulted each other, and decided to do the project.

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Goofs

Coley is frequently mentioned as a cheap local fish. Locals confirm that coley was pretty much unknown in Cornwall in 1936 - far more likely would be ling or pollack. Additionally, "starry-gazey pie", of which the fish was to be an ingredient, is unique to Mousehole, about 30 miles from the supposed location in the film.

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Quotes

[they have finished dinner, still waiting for Andrea to return]
Janet Widdington: I'm going to phone Pendered.
Ursula Widdington: All right.
Janet Widdington: [Janet goes to the phone] Trevannic 412, please, Mrs. Pengelley... Hello? Mr. Pendered?... Yeah, it's - it's Janet Widdington... Yeah, well - hello... Yes, we're rather worried about Andrea. We were expecting him for supper. And we...
[her face falls as she listens]
Janet Widdington: Oh, I - oh, I see... No, no - we didn't know... Yes... Well, thank you.
[she hangs up]
Ursula Widdington: Janet, what's happened?
Janet Widdington: They've gone.
Ursula Widdington: What do...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

Special thanks to the people of Helston, Cornwall and the people of Cadgwith, Cornwall.

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Connections

Referenced in Clatterford: Easter (2009)

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Soundtracks

Meditation
(1894)
from "Thaïs"
Music by Jules Massenet
Performed by Joshua Bell

User Reviews

A film that enhances all thats good in British cinema

The film, directed by Charles Dance, is the epitome of good, low budget, British cinema. Two major actresses, Judy dench and Maggie Smith underplay their parts very well. Maggie Smith has that special gift of "scene stealing". The locations were superb and true to life as I remember that era well. The casting director gathered a supporting cast who added to the enjoyment of the film. My only complaint was that the editing for the first 30mins of the film lacked sympathy with the plot and, at times, very abrupt. The question of how the boy got into the water is never explained but it didn't matter because the script was more of a story without a beginning and without end. A great film, I loved it!