The Lady In The Van – 60 Second Movie Review

SUMMARY: Maggie Smith plays Miss Shepherd, a homeless woman who parks her van in the driveway of actor Alan Bennett for three weeks – and stays for 15 years. A true story that is equal parts funny and heart-touching about a woman who speaks to the virgin Mary, despises music and has the most deplorable odour, who also manages to put the charity of her neighbours under the microscope.

RATED: M for Mature Themes and Coarse Language, and

AUDIENCE: An absolute certainty for anyone who liked funny thinking films like The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and Ladies In Lavender

WHAT’S GOOD: Maggie Smith! She’s a brilliant actress who reprises her role from the original stage play and perfectly captures the sort of woman we don’t like to see, but can’t look away from.

WHAT’S NOT: The way it shows up middle class morality (which is actually another positive). We come out looking more tolerant than sympathetic, with little idea how we should treat those less fortunate than ourselves.

SPIRITUALLY SPEAKING: This isn’t a Christian film but Alan Bennett comes to reflect Jesus’ second greatest commandment – to love your neighbour as yourself. He doesn’t like Miss Shepherd and he often wants to ring her neck, but that doesn’t stop him coming to see her as someone who could have been his own mother, and so he treats her accordingly.

RELEASE DATE: Opened nationally Thursday, March 3rd.

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