This time the scraped knee is the old lady's, and it's a young man who applies the bandage. An adaptation of a 1971 novel by the under-rated Elizabeth (née Coles) Taylor, the movie begins at a geriatrically slow pace which picks up, ironically, when aged Mrs. Palfrey falls down. She lands on the sidewalk in view of the basement apartment of young Ludovic Meyer, so named to prop up the comedy. Ludo bandages her knee, makes her a cup of tea, and they connect in a rather forced way: embarrassed that her own grandson never visits her at The Claremont, she asks Ludo to pretend to be him. He does, and the other senior tenants at The Claremont believe it. The deceit weaves a mildly tangled web, but mostly results in the filmmakers stacking the deck against the real grandson, Desmond, presented as a cipher we're not supposed to like. Ditto both mothers-- Ludo's and Desmond's. Reducing all three to antagonists is a blatant plot device, and a significant flaw.
But the movie is more about Mrs. Palfrey's generation, and about the friendship with Ludo, a widow and a bachelor, both on their own. Unfortunately, Dame Joan Plowright, who was 75 at the time but seemed a good deal older, doesn't muster up much thespian skill other than an occasional wobbly smile. Mrs. Palfrey is a charming role, well written, but Plowright brings the minimum to her performance: very little change of expression or variation in delivering her lines.
Perhaps inevitably then, Rupert Friend as Ludo steals the attention in every frame they share. He is an engaging performer, and he brings the lion's share of vitality to the film, as well as dashing leonine hair. Most of the other characters are pensioners, of course, staying at the Claremont, so they're not a bouncy crowd. But they're a varied crew, and played well. Anna Massey stands out in her small but crucial role, as she did in every film I've seen her in. She worked until she died, aged 73, in 2011.
But the movie is more about Mrs. Palfrey's generation, and about the friendship with Ludo, a widow and a bachelor, both on their own. Unfortunately, Dame Joan Plowright, who was 75 at the time but seemed a good deal older, doesn't muster up much thespian skill other than an occasional wobbly smile. Mrs. Palfrey is a charming role, well written, but Plowright brings the minimum to her performance: very little change of expression or variation in delivering her lines.
Perhaps inevitably then, Rupert Friend as Ludo steals the attention in every frame they share. He is an engaging performer, and he brings the lion's share of vitality to the film, as well as dashing leonine hair. Most of the other characters are pensioners, of course, staying at the Claremont, so they're not a bouncy crowd. But they're a varied crew, and played well. Anna Massey stands out in her small but crucial role, as she did in every film I've seen her in. She worked until she died, aged 73, in 2011.