Watch My Old Lady For Free

Sorry, this movie sucks

Funny, strange, confrontational and subversive, this is one of the most interesting experiences you'll have at the cinema this year.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

Blistering performances.

This film has a great cast, and seems to have potential with the DVD tag line reading, "A Classic in the Making". Maybe the person who penned this tag line was trying to be generous but they couldn't bring themselves to call it "An Instant Classic" so they were clever and said "A Classic in the Making" which is ambiguous and not necessarily critical, but does seem to imply that this film has not quite arrived. I believe the director is to blame for this not being a better movie. He needed to bring more depth and emotion and realism out of the characters. The actors gave clichéd and strained performances and there was plenty material for this movie to play off. Set in Paris, secret lovers for decades, uncertain paternal origins, and tragic suicide. The impact was not there and although not a bad movie, it left much to be desired.

The trailer for this film pushes it towards being a comedy, though what you actually get is a profound observation of life and the ways that our decisions have effects on others, sometimes not for the best.The story starts out on a comedic level with Kevin Kline's character, Mathias Gold (which he portrays charmingly), turning up at an apartment in Paris, which his father owned, only to find an old lady living there. Mathilde Girard, played perfectly by Maggie Smith, is the tenant who had sold her apartment to Gold's father on a life lease; this means he has to pay her a monthly stipend until she dies, at which point the apartment then becomes his. This stipend now passes onto Mathias.Being in desperate need of money he decides to go ahead and sell the apartment along with the ongoing contract. However, as we progress through the film we are introduced to Mathilde Girard's daughter, Chloe who is portrayed beautifully by Kristin Scott Thomas, who is utterly opposed to both Gold and his plans.As the obstacles build up to his scheme other secrets and lies are revealed which takes the movie into a melancholic and bittersweet province. This adds depths to all the characters as they start to reveal their true selves and feelings towards one another.Credit is due to the main actors as they pull this off seamlessly and make you empathise with them. The writer of the play, as well as this screenplay and director of the film, Israel Horovitz does a magnificent job of taking everyday life and placing it under a microscope. The change from comedic to bittersweet is so smooth and realistic that it draws the audience into the film more without them realising that the entire attitude has changed.The only thing I found slightly irksome was the happy ending. This is certainly one way the story could go, but there are a couple of others too - one, not so happy - the other, totally bleak. With the feel of the story towards the end, I think the happy ending was thrown in to let the audiences know that everything works out in the end... However, this is not the sentiment at the heart of the movie, because of this the ending feels strange and a little strained.This is a wonderful piece of storytelling and film-making and is worth a viewing, especially if you like to see life as it really is.

I just watched this film last night and was so overwhelmed by one scene that I had to stop watching I was so upset. A number of people posting here have said how they disliked Mathias; that he was grasping, selfish etc. They really should have listened harder. What Mathias was describing was an unhappy childhood. A child who has been emotionally neglected often grows up with a personality disorder. They feel abandoned, have low self esteem, develop addictive and self destructive tendencies like alcohol and gambling. They have no happy memories and are likely to have trouble maintaining relationships. They may seem greedy but sometimes at least money is something tangible since they get little pleasure from human interaction. All these symptoms are clearly expressed by Mathias. He hates his father, but the hatred does not make him feel better. The fact that his father has told other people he is worthless only adds insult to injury. The writer of this knows about this and it is the only time I have ever seen this condition expressed in a film. I know, because I am a neglectful criminal father who has destroyed his son's life.

I wasn't expecting much from this film but I was pleasantly surprised. 'My Old Lady' is a well-written, steady drama with a very simple storyline, but that's all that is needed.The relationship between the characters is what the film is all about and Maggie Smith and Kevin Kline were two perfect choices for the main characters. The humour is subtle but there's no doubt that this is a comedy-drama film and Maggie Smith is particularly funny.Sometimes less is more and 'My Old Lady' is certainly a testament to that. A very simple, slow film but just as effective as the more complicated, fast-paced dramas out there.