The Lady in the Van

Maggie Smith as always knocks this one out of the ball park. A terrific look at mental illness and homelessness, beautifully portrayed by one of the finest actresses that ever lived.

Good movie

Maggie Smith never disappoints. Sad story about a talented pianist reduced to homelessness and a very generous gay man who saves her dignity.

Maggie Smith is so amazing and so adaptable....she has never been typecast and acts beautifully in any role that she accepts. This one was certainly different. She plays a curmudgeonly bag lady who has parked her yellow van on a residential street. A playwright who lives there invites her to park the van in his driveway for a short time, which turns into 15 years! She invites herself to use his bathroom facilities, though probably not as often as she should. The neighbors, while curious, are amazingly accepting of the woman with mental problems, and their children even deliver Christmas gifts to her. She apparently previously had been a gifted pianist, a would-be nun, and continued to be a person of radical political views. When she obtained a new van (gift of the playwright?), she painted it yellow, too. The well-kept secret that kept her hiding in the van was revealed late in the movie; a motorcyclist had hit her van and been killed; she held herself responsible and was afraid that police were searching for her. The playwright makes the story even more interesting, as we see him as two different personalities (the author, and the individual who deals with reality), who converse with each other. (At first I thought them to be twins.) He seems to mentally compare his resident bag lady to his mother, in various ways. This is a true story, and it is filmed at the actual home of the playwright and the very driveway and London neighborhood where the van and the lady resided for 15 years. Truth is stranger than fiction. This is different from any other film I've seen, and I will keep it and watch it again.

So sorry she passed away. We still have the opportunity to see her again in the DVD's. I loved this movie. Amazing how her works are just as good later in her life as before. She was a true gem!

or not just about the homeless. It's about how older people are cast off and given less importance as human beings. One's humanity and value diminish. The man in the house where the lady parked her van -- due to his laziness not a sense of charity -- tries to have very little to do with his aging mother, yet he is forced by circumstance to assist a messy old homeless woman, whom he barely tolerates and uses as writing material. It's clear she is homeless because running from the law, something the case workers manage to never uncover. Her brother never liked her nor did the nuns. Was that their problem or hers? She has fought to maintain independence all her life. She has insight into Mr. Bennett. He has no spine. Why doesn't he resist the Dr. who tells him it's not worth it to give his mother medical care because she is old and might as well die? This is the most disturbing and horrible moment of the movie. How dare anyone minimize care because someone is old yet this is the reality, the absolute coldness to the elderly. Is this a British value? The best an older person can expect is to be tolerated so Margaret pushes it by becoming more intolerable. The guilt she nourishes is rather puzzling. Did she really perceive the accident was her fault? It could have been sorted out easily by not running away. Maggie Smith, needless to say, is brilliant and the entire thing is watchable. Too many questions and weaknesses.

I love this video .

Loved it -- What a charming movie... but not in a quaint sort of manner. Maggie Smith does a wonderful job of portraying Margaret, sometimes called Mary, a homeless and extremely religious woman who was once a well-educated and classically trained pianist. An incident in her past continues to haunt her and keeps her trapped in a world of delusions and paranoia. This is a brilliant glimpse of life and mental illness as presented through the narrative of a playwright, Alan, who observes rather than interacts with his world. Margaret ends up moving her van into his garden and Alan won’t say no. Together, this very odd couple, with his introversion and her eccentric behaviors, create a memorable relationship no one would have imagined. The ensuing dialogue is lively, entertaining and memorable. I'm very happy I stumbled across this "mostly true story". I thought it was well written and beautifully performed.

俳優さんが好きなので購入しましたが、無い様に魅力を感じられませんでした。

Different, yet interesting and touching BBC drama about a woman who parks the van she's living in, in someone's driveway, and ends up staying there for 15 years. With Maggie Smith, Alex Jennings and Jim Broadbent. (2015, English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Thai languages, with English, French, Chinese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish and Thai subtitles, 104 mins.).

Eine unvergleichliche, absolut überzeugende Maggie Smith und ein sehr gutes Script. Absolut empehlenswerter Film!

THE LADY IN THE VAN [2015 / 2016] [Blu-ray + Digital HD ULTRAVIOLET] Maggie Smith is Glorious! One of the Best British Films of the Year! Based on the true story, Miss Shepherd was a woman of uncertain origins who “temporarily” parked her van in Bennett’s London driveway and proceeded to live there for 15 years. What began as a begrudged favour became a relationship that would change both their lives. Filmed on the street and in the house where Alan Bennett and Miss Shepherd lived for all those years, acclaimed director Nicholas Hytner reunites with Alan Bennett [‘The Madness of King George’ and ‘The History Boys’] to bring this funny, poignant, and life-affirming story to the screen. FILM FACT: Awards and Nominations: 2015 73rd Golden Globe® Awards: Nominated: Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture for a Musical or Comedy for Dame Maggie Smith. 2015 69th British Academy Film Awards: Nominated: Best Actress in a Leading Role for Dame Maggie Smith. 2015 43rd Evening Standard British Film Awards: Win: Best Actress for Dame Maggie Smith. Nicholas Hytner directed the original stage production at the Queen's Theatre in London, while Alan Bennett adapted the screenplay from his 1999 West End play of the same name, which was nominated at the 2000 Olivier Awards for Play of the Year. The film was shown in the Special Presentations section of the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival. The film's score consists of classical music by Chopin and others; some additional music was composed by George Fenton. Cast: Dame Maggie Smith, Jim Broadbent, Clare Hammond, George Fenton, BBC Concert Orchestra, Alex Jennings, Jamie Parker, Deborah Findlay, Roger Allam, Richard Griffiths, Pandora Colin, Nicholas Burns, Dominic Cooper, Giles Cooper, Tom Klenerman, Gwen Taylor, Frances de la Tour, Claire Foy, James Corden, George Taylor, David Calder, Eleanor Matsuura, Selina Cadell, Charlie Hancock, Dan Raza, Dermot Crowley, Clive Merrison, Samuel Barnett, Russell Tovey, Samuel Anderson, Michelle Reid, Sam Spruell, Rosalind Knight, Elliot Levey, Sarah Lieberson, Cecilia Noble, Hannah Watson, Linda Broughton, Stephen Campbell Moore, Marion Bailey, Sacha Dhawan, Andrew Knott, Lorna Brown, June Watson, Sam McArdle, Tony Van Silva, Geoffrey Streatfeild, Alan Bennett (2014), Richard Banks (uncredited), Jessica Bastick-Vines (uncredited), Bern Collaco (uncredited), Tom Coulston (uncredited), Aaron Neil (uncredited) and Harriet Thorpe (uncredited) Director: Nicholas Hytner Producers: Damian Jones, Ed Wethered, Faiza Hosenie, Kevin Loader and Nicholas Hytner Screenplay: Alan Bennett Composer: George Fenton Cinematography: Andrew Dunn Video Resolution: 1080p Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Audio: English: 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, English Audio Descriptive: 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and English: 2.0 Dolby Digital Stereo Subtitles: English, English SDH, Hindi and Polish Running Time: 104 minutes Region: Region B/2 Number of discs: 1 Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment / BBC Films Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: If crotchety upper-class vagrant Miss Mary Shepherd hadn’t turned up on the North London doorstep of the celebrated playwright Alan Bennett, he might have had to make her up, if only to give Dame Maggie Smith, our veritable Garbo of dingbat hauteur, one of the most tailor-made leading roles of her late career. Then again, perhaps vagrant Miss Mary Shepherd was partly his idea: The tension between life experience and authorial invention is the one complicating factor in ‘THE LADY IN THE VAN,’ an otherwise heart-warming crowd-pleasing studies of two eccentric introverts, on opposite sides of the poverty line and finding common ground in more ways than one. Low on narrative drive, and marred by a misjudged final-act swerve into extravagant whimsy, Nicholas Hytner’s amiable luvvie-fest is enlivened by Dame Maggie Smith’s signature irascibility; at least in healthy vanloads. Nicholas Hytner and Alan Bennett dramatize this evolving turf war of sorts and one that gradually yields mutual understanding, if not quite friendship, but mainly in ambling, semi-sitcom style. The puzzle of Miss Mary Shepherd’s backstory, stoked by occasional night-time visits from an apparent blackmailer (a leering Jim Broadbent) and all in all the film is a brilliant portrayal of a truly odd couple, and where also the screenplay touches on guilt, atonement and how nastily nuns can behave. ‘THE LADY IN THE VAN’ [2015] sees Dame Maggie Smith as the terrific as the muse in Alan Bennetts’ driveway. Dame Maggie Smith is excellent as the homeless woman who parked her camper van in Alan Bennett’s garden for 15 years, in this enjoyable film about their poignant relationship from Nicholas Hytner. Dame Maggie Smith gets the chance to play someone grander than the Dowager Countess of Grantham, although with the same piercing stare of disapproval, pinched lips and bird-like head movements, as she assesses the unsatisfactory nature of everything around her. Two Academy Awards® out of six nominations, five BAFTA® awards, three Emmys awards, three Golden Globes® awards, four Screen Actors Guild Awards, and a Tony. It’s exhausting just to list the accolades that Dame Maggie Smith has accumulated over her decades on screen and stage: Imagine how tiring it must have been to earn them all. With two Alan Bennetts and Maggie Smith channelling a down-and-out dowager countess, this touching true story of the woman who lived in a van on the writer’s drive is a brilliantly British triumph. Dame Maggie Smith plays Miss Shepherd, the “Lady in the Van,” in this very enjoyable film directed by Nicholas Hytner and adapted by Alan Bennett from his London Review of Books memoir about the haughty, cantankerous homeless woman who bullied him into having her chaotic camper van in his driveway for 15 years. Smith’s performance, honed from the previous stage and radio versions, is terrifically good. Dame Maggie Smith as Miss Shepherd never says thank you or allows any charitable deed to go unpunished; Dame Maggie Smith shows how this once educated, talented woman is brazening out her agonised private guilt, and her presence is accompanied by much hand-wringing and suppressed distaste among the upscale north London neighbours, not unlike some of the characters resemble those featured in Alan Bennett's 1960s cartoon series “The Stringal.” Alex Jennings gives a sharp and sympathetic performance as Alan Bennett, arguing with himself in split-screen, like a one-man married couple. Jennings shows that Alan Bennett’s reasons for allowing Miss Shepherd to walk all over him were not down to timidity, or English reticence, or Christian charity, or because she was a guilty mother-substitute and he dismisses this glib parallel or even because he intended from the outset to use her as material. ‘THE LADY IN THE VAN’ [2015] might have been a kind of muse: the driving force behind his dramatic work, with its brilliant insights into loneliness and age. With Bennett, Miss Shepherd performed a strange, poignant duet of prickly unhappiness and wry humour. The likes of Roger Allam, Dominic Cooper and James Corden play useful cameo roles and the great Alan Bennett himself rolls up on his bike for the unveiling of a blue plaque to the sacred site at the end. But the glory of the film goes to the brilliant Dame Maggie Smith. There's nobody like her: so wonderfully Grande dame in any degree of squalor. All any of us can aspire to in the end, perhaps. But while her performance in The Lady in the Van was very much in the discussion for Best Actress this year, her age was scarcely brought up at all and exactly as it should be. Dame Maggie Smith has no need for such handicapping. She is not a gimmick; she is a treasure. This real cinematic pleasure is one of the best British films of the year. Blu-ray Video Quality – Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has brought you this 2015 film looking really good to amazing on this 1080p encoded image Blu-ray, as well as an equally very nice 1.85:1 aspect ratio. ‘THE LADY IN THE VAN’ [2015] has very exceptional detail, strong contrast levels and some amazing colour levels. The fine detail is never in doubt, with every fibre and wrinkle on the aging actors bodies and clothing are always visible, and the while the contrast is pushed to the high end of the spectrum, it never washes out the blacks TOO much. With that being said, I did notice a couple of times where said contrast gave the blacks a slightly washed out hue, but those were mostly at the beginning of the film, while the rest of the film sports deep and inky blacks. Colours are warm and natural, with cheery blues, greens and pastels to fill out the image with a good feel to the film. Playback Region B/2: This will not play on most Blu-ray players sold in North America, Central America, South America, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. Learn more about Blu-ray region specifications. Blu-ray Audio Quality – Sony Pictures Home Entertainment brings you also an equally impressive 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track on board sports great fidelity from the centre channel, which carries most of the weight, and features a good balance with the rest of the track but you know what to expect from your average drama in the audio department. Again this Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Blu-ray release offers a totally rich and rewarding 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track, as I am very happy and very pleased with this UK Release’s audio presentation. What is also impressive is composer George Fenton supplied carefully calibrated score, which traverses the film's complex emotional territory with the composer's characteristic delicacy and the audio sounds are really clean, clear and well balanced throughout. So anyone purchasing this particular Blu-ray UK Release will be very well rewarded. Blu-ray Special Features and Extras: Audio Commentary: Commentary with Director Nicholas Hytner: Here Nicholas Hytner introduces himself and welcoming you to join him with this audio commentary while watching the film. Nicholas basically says the film is about Alan Bennett and his encounters with Miss Shepherd and her vans. We find out that Miss Shepherd is basically on the run from the police, because she felt it was her fault that she caused the accident with the young man on his motorcyclist, but of course we eventually find out that Miss Shepherd was not a criminal. Nicholas Hytner feels the film portrays Alan Bennet perfectly and very much like his real private life. We find out that when we see Dame Maggie Smith wandering around Camden High Street, it was actually filmed in Dalston High Street as the place has not changed, whereas Camden High Street has changed very dramatically. Many of the British actors in the film have worked with Nicholas Hynter in the theatre a lot. The Jim Broadbent character of the corrupt policeman, was thought up by Alan Bennett to show why Miss Shepherd was trying live incognito, to keep the story flowing. When we see the scene where Miss Shepherd is in Broadstairs [coastal town on the Isle of Thanet in the Thanet district of east Kent, England], and meets her Brother in the shed, well this actually happened in real life, because the Brother’s wife would not allow Miss Shepherd in the house. As we get near to the end of the film, especially with the last 24 hours of Miss Shepherd’s life, before she passed away, Alan Bennett found a note left for him to contact her Brother and in real life Alan Bennett goes to Broadstairs to actually meet the Brother, which you see in the film. When we get the final surreal ending of the film where Miss Shepherd appearing after being buried, and talking to the two Alan Bennet’s is how it happened in the play at The National Theatre, and of course it is an imagination of his inner thoughts of what might happen if he did meet the ghost of Miss Shepherd, and of course it is a way to get the last word from Miss Shepherd over Alan Bennett. Nicholas Hytner sums up the film, by saying that what a joy it was to make the film and especially everyone who was involved with the film, who were a great team to work with and was also a great honour to make the film, especially in memory of Miss Shepherd. Special Feature: Playing The Lady: Dame Maggie Smith as Miss Shepherd [2015] [1080p] [1.78:1] [6:22] First up with this special feature is Nicholas Hytner [Director] who talks about extensively about the amazing stage and screen actress Dame Maggie Smith. Since the 1960s, has been one of the shinning stars of the original The National Theatre Company under the guidance of Sir Lawrence Olivier, and played Desdemona in “OTHELLO” and of course has won countless of Oscars® and especially for ‘The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie,’ and has never stopped be a true performer throughout the 20th Century. But of course what happened when any actress and especially of the calibre of Dame Maggie Smith reaches that certain age, because the great parts tend to dry up and are harder to acquire when you are over the retirement age, but of course when a truly brilliant part does come along in the guise of Miss Shepherd, it reminds you that it shows you the terrific high point in Dame Maggie Smith’s career so far. But of course we find out that the part of Miss Shepherd was written specifically for Dame Maggie Smith, and it was on instinct from Alan Bennet and Nicholas Hytner that secure Dame Maggie Smith the part of Miss Shepherd. Next up is Alex Jennings [Alan Bennett] and found working with Dame Maggie Smith was an extraordinary experience, especially observing the powerful performance of thus brilliant actress. Next up is Kevin Loder [Producer] who comments on the fact that it was very brave of Dame Maggie Smith being known as a “National Treasure” to become the character of this grumpy old woman. Then we come onto the wonderful Dame Maggie Smith [Miss Shepherd] and comments on the fact that the actual Miss Shepherd was a very unpleasant woman, and says it was a very odd experience from going into the character of Miss Shepherd and feels her life was a real waste and personally feels deep down that Miss Shepherd really felt a sense of regret. We find out that Alan Bennett only really found out the true character of Miss Shepherd after the lady passed away, and in doing so Alan Bennett found out some truly wonderful material about her reel life from the past, and that is why Alan Bennett was able to produce something special, truly magical and also something truly remarkable. But Alex Jennings at the end of this special feature says that working with Dame Maggie Smith was again a formidable and a true privilege with this wonderful actress, who he felt and everyone else though, gave a truly extraordinary performance. Special Feature: The Making of ‘THE LADY IN THE VAN’ [2015] [1080p] [1.78:1] [13:46] We are informed that ‘The Lady in the van’ was based loosely on a true story, but with a few embellishments, where Alan Bennett is a real writer who once lived in Gloucester Crescent near Camden Town in London . . . and to the build up to the making of the film, we get clips from the film to set the scene. Here Nicholas Hytner [Director] informs us that Alan Bennet [Writer] moved into the house in Gloucester Crescent in 1968, where Alan Bennett talks about when he moved into his home, he noticed Miss Shepherd van parked in Gloucester Crescent just up the road from him, but after 3 months Miss Shepherd eventually let her van drift to the next house, and eventually opposite Alan’s house, and around 1974 the council tried to move her on, and of course eventually Miss Shepherd finally winkled her way into parking he van in Alan’s driveway, and of course lasted for 15 years. But Alan Bennett says that if he had known the vent was going to last 15 years, he would never have dreamt of doing it, and of course things just creep up on you without warning. But of course the lady in the van did not go unnoticed by the residents of Gloucester Crescent and especially a young director named Nicholas Hytner, who moved into the area in 1983, and he knew Alan Bennett lived at No.23 and could not work out what this yellow van was doing parked in Alan’s driveway, that was covered in bits of old carpet and the strange system of wires running between the van and the house, and as usual the English are always too polite to ask. Dame Maggie Smith asked Alan Bennett, “how come it lasted for such a long time that Miss Shepherd was there,” and Alan Bennett says, “well she didn’t impinge,” and Dame Maggie Smith thought, what do you have to impinge on Alan. At the age of 78 years of age, Miss Shepherd passed away, and of course Alan Bennett wrote of his encounter with Miss Shepherd over the 15 year period and of course published the now famous memoirs of this period that Alan Bennett experienced with Miss Shepherd. But in 1999 Alan Bennett adapted “The lady in the Van” into a play, which was directed by Nicholas Hytner, which had Dame Maggie Smith playing the part of Miss Shepherd and ran for 9 months at the Queen’s Theatre in London. But in 2012 Alan Bennett and Nicholas Hytner collaborated on another play entitled “Cocktail Sticks” and starred Alex Jennings playing the part of Alan Bennett, who everyone thought he played the paly writer very convincingly. In 2014, filming started filming ‘THE LADY IN THE VAN,’ and just like the play. Nicholas Hytner was to direct the film and here we get to see behind-the-scene filming in Camden. Everyone felt they could not make the film without Dame Maggie Smith and breathed a sigh of relief when the Grande Dame agreed to appear in the film. But of course they wanted Alex Jennings to appear as Alan Bennett, because of his portrayal as Alan Bennett in the play. The filmmakers felt that the film had to be shot in Alan Bennet’s original home he once lived in and on top of all that Alan Bennett was really pleased with the result of the film. Sadly Miss Shepherd passed away in 1989, but today her story still touches those who knew her, as well as those worked on the film about her life. Special Feature: Deleted Scenes [2015] [1080p] [1.78:1] [4:34] You have a selection of three deleted scenes, which consist of “You Could Get Tent;” “I’m Preparing My Manifesto” and “She Has A Low Quiet Voice.” Once again you can either select to watch them individually or Play All. Special Feature: The Visual Effects [2015] [1080p] [1.78:1] [7:28] This special feature shows you how they did the trick photography in having two Alex Jennings appearing at the same time and as you will see the second Alex Jennings is played by the extra George Taylor, who has to wear the same clothing and what you get to see is screen wipes to show you how it was all done. Kevin Loader [Producer] informs us that in the play, the second person was the landlord who was always complaining about Miss Shepherd in Alan’s driveway. But they felt for the film it was much better to have the second Alan Bennett who was his inner thoughts talking. We also have input from Mervyn New [VFX Supervisor – Union VFX] who talks about the intricate technical camera set ups, especially how they got Dame Maggie Smith to rise up to heaven and to be welcomed by God. All in all this is a really fascinating insight into how they produced all the special visual effects. Theatrical Trailer [2015] [1080p] [1.78:1] [1:58] This is the original Theatrical Trailer for the film ‘THE LADY IN THE VAN.’ This is a totally brilliant presentation and gives you a real treat in showing off selections from the film that really shows you why it has been the big box office hit it deserves to be. Finally, it says a lot that just about every surviving cast member from this director’s screen version of ‘The History Boys’ pops up for a cameo role like Jamie Parker as an estate agent, James Corden as a market trader, and literally half a dozen others. Frances de la Tour plays the widow of Ralph Vaughan Williams, Roger Allam a slimy hypocrite of a neighbour. Perhaps it depends if you want all your national treasures dumped out of the chest at once. There are cherish able lines and moments, like “There’s air freshener behind the Virgin”, says a local priest to the parishioner unfortunate enough to follow Mary into the confession booth. Her heedless smearing of mimosa paint on the driveway brickwork is a lovely touch. But of one thing, there’s even less doubt: it's guaranteed to please absolutely everyone who already knows they’ll love it. Also at one point of the film the great Alan Bennett himself rolls up on his bike for the unveiling of a blue plaque to the sacred site at the end. But the glory of the film of course must go to the wonderful Dame Maggie Smith, because there is nobody like her, a true tour de force of such a wonderfully Grande dame in any degree of squalor. All any of us in the end can aspire to it in the end. Highly Recommended! Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Fan Le Cinema Paradiso WARE, United Kingdom

Nicholas Hythner à qui l'on doit également "La folie du roi George" réalise avec beaucoup de finesse, de sensibilité, de retenue magnifiées par un humour merveilleusement anglais une comédie dramatique adaptée du roman éponyme d'Alan Bennett (scénariste du film) d'après l'histoire vraie d'une femme âgée Mary Shepherd qui a durant 15 ans vécu dans un van délabré dans l'allée de l'écrivain à Londres. A noter que la pièce triompha à Londres avec Maggie Smith qui reprend le rôle principal à l'écran. Au-delà de la magnifique performance de Maggie Smith (et d'Alex Jennings dans le rôle d'Alan Bennett) qui interprète à la perfection et fait évoluer tout au long du film avec une rare intelligence ce personnage déjanté, désocialisé, brisé et néanmoins vivant et résilient le réalisateur et l'auteur nous font voir toute sorte de personnages à la marge de la société et leurs rapports avec les autres qui les observent avec plus ou moins de condescendance, d'indifférence ou de gentillesse. Ce film profond aborde non seulement le thème de la vieillesse et de la misère qui sont de vrais naufrages mais également celui de la religion, de l'homosexualité et bien d'autres encore. C'est également la rencontre improbable en apparence et la cohabitation inimaginable entre un écrivain dont la vie solitaire est ponctuée par la visite de gigolos,d'une mère qui sombre petit à petit dans la maladie d'Alzheimer et les conversations et indiscrétions d'un voisinage hypocrite et d'une vieille femme excentrique et pourtant terriblement attachante. Ce film qui fait la part belle aux acteurs est servi par des dialogues pointus, subtils, d'une grande finesse et des situations d'une grande drôlerie. Délicieuse et intelligente cette comédie dramatique est réussie comme seuls les Britanniques savent le faire. Brillant!