“It’s a family thing” … Struggling author Mathias (Kevin Kline) is broke, his last hope is the house in Paris which he inherited from his father … along with the house comes a tenant he can’t get rid of: British grammar Nazi Mathilde (Dame Maggie Smith) used to be the long time lover of his father and – who knows – might her daughter Chloé (Kristin Scott Thomas) be Mathias’ half sister? Too bad he fell in love with her …
MY OLD LADY was screened as a European Première at 10. Zurich Film Festival and it is somehow too long and at the same time just too short: I would like to buy the book Mathias writes in Paris. The wonderful set deco, the costumes, an excellent cast, wonderful Paris in a lead role … MY OLD LADY is a delightfully European film by screenwriter/director Israel Horovitz. There are life lessons to be had, but at a price. This comedy turns tragedy on us before doubling back to a somewhat satisfying finale.
Like SKELETON TWINS and WISH I WAS HERE this is another film about a struggling author or actor, another film about suicide attempts … maybe it’s a thing in 2014. Let’s put it like this: MY OLD LADY is a dramedy about adultery, about family and about (never) growing up, as one of the lines goes: “We‘re always waiting for our parents to come back and make it allright, but they never do.” I’ll read up on Samuel Beckett and Colbert.
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