Movie Review: Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont.

"THERE ARE SOME PEOPLE THAT CROSS OUR LIVES, IN TINY FRACTIONS OF TIME, AND YET THEY LEAVE AN ENDURABLE MARK IN OUR HEARTS AND IN OUR MIND".




Recently I had one of my extremely enjoyable coffee and movie nights with my Nanny. We settled in on her couches with our coffee and chocolate and began flicking through the usual movie channels.


As fate would have it we came accross a quaintly charming little film called "Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont" In noteing that I hadnt really heard the title before and the leading role was played by a character actress who hadnt really been in the spotlight before I expected the movie to be an easy watch but nothing particularly special.


In my naivity I was completley wrong. The movie whilst what some more liberal thinkers may refer to as "prude", I felt to be very poignant and heart rending. A genetic throwback to Hollywoods golden days when women were ladies and men were gentlmen. Indeed fans of the 1950's will love this fresh take on a movie based on the 1950's English Novel by Elizabeth Taylor (Not the actress for those of you familiar with the name.)



Mrs. Sarah Palfrey (Joan Plowright, 101 Dalmatians, Tea with Mussolini), an elderly woman by chance (or was it destiny) comes accross the path of a young author Ludovic Mayer (Rupert Friend,Pride and Prejudice,The Libertine). The two unlikely friends find that they have more in common with each other than with people their own age.


In becoming friends it becomes apparent that the two balance each others lives in a "vice versa" sort of manner. Mrs. Palfrey feels as if she is a burden to her family, and despite her genteel and rather fashionable sensibility finds herself abandoned by her fast paced 20th Century living family. Ludovic (who out of fondness becomes known as Ludo to Mrs. Palfrey) relates to Mrs. Palfrey in that he feels his mother is ashamed of him for his somewhat free and easy living lifestyle.


Through the development of the warmly quaint friendship and a chain of un-expected events Ludo ends up posing as Mrs. Palfreys grandson before the other nosey inhabitants of the dowdy retirement hotel "The Claremont". Through this theatrical role play Ludo comes to see Mrs. Palfrey as his adopted grandmother and takes to calling her "Sasa" the nick name Mrs. Palfrey said her real grandson used to call her as a child.


As the movie progresses Ludo is inspired to write about his new friendship with the enchanting widow and through cleverly inserted voice overs we hear fractions of his writing whilst the imagery plays out before us on the screen.


A charming example:


"She danced around her memories with the agile step of a young girl."


The two are an example of Love, how it used to be, how it should be. Though not romantically attached they are connected by love that allows him to see into her sincere memories of yester year and that allows her to be settled in letting her memories go as she see's the same spirit and fire continue in people such as Ludo.


The film is for lovers, for the romantics that long for something a little more than what the Hollywood of today has to offer.



The Novel of the same name is set in the 1950's which at first to some may make the movie seem a little displaced in both dialogue (which seems incredibly old world for all the characters young and old) and subject matter. Which in my opnion is a pity.


Though I would like to imagine that somewhere out there some young man is taking the time out of his day to make an elderly woman feel as if the world hasn't forgotten her. And it makes me glad that in my life I have my own "Sasa" in my beloved Nanny.


You could find many morals to this movie, "you're never to old to make life an adventure", "Love is timeless" etc etc.


What I personally gleened from this film was an appreciation for the living testiments to the past. Memories can be so precious, when my world no longer exists and one day a young man or woman takes time out to hear a greying old man's stories about his time on earth I hope to be able to recount a tale of romance, of love, of little special moments that only I and my wife may have known ever existed. Little places that although may be eternal in physical existence will spiritually be extinguished with my passing of this world, leaving the space hallowed and ready for another pair of lovers memories to fill it.


Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont. Theres one of her in your neighbourhood, over flowing with memories of sweeter times, and theres also one of her in each of us. It's something I look forward too in old age, what impact will my story have?


But for now, I'm happy being someones "Ludo". As stated in the movie, there are some people who cross our lives in tiny fractions of time, and yet they leave an endurable mark in our hearts and in our mind.