The Lady In The Van (2015)
79%RT Audience Score: 64%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award
1 win & 8 nominations total
Led by a marvelous performance from Maggie Smith, Lady in the Van wrings poignant, often hilarious insight from its fact-based source material
The Lady in the Van is a heartwarming and hilarious film that will make you want to adopt your own grumpy old lady. Maggie Smith shines as always, but the real star is the quirky and endearing character of Miss Shepherd. The film strikes a perfect balance between comedy and drama, and will leave you feeling uplifted and inspired to show kindness to those around you. Plus, who doesn’t love a good van-dwelling adventure? Hop on board and enjoy the ride!
Production Company(ies)
Eisei Gekijo Hakuhodo Nippon Shuppan Hanbai K. K.
Distributor
Sony Pictures Classics
Release Type
Streaming, Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
Gloucester Crescent, Camden Town, London, England, UK
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG – 13 for a brief unsettling image
Year of Release
2016
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Digital
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:1h 44m
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Language(s):English, French
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Country of origin:United Kingdom
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Feb 19, 2016 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 19, 2016
Genre(s)
Biography/Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Maggie Smith, Alex Jennings, Roger Allam, Deborah Findlay, Frances de la Tour, Gwen Taylor, directed by Nicholas Hytner, written by Alan Bennett, biography, drama, comedy, PG-13, box office, budget, reviewed by Roxana Hadadi, Sandra Hall, Paul Byrnes, David Stratton, Tom Long, Steve Davis, Hosea Rupprecht, Richard Crouse, Debbie Lynn Elias, Alexa Dalby, Cate Marquis, actor, director, writer, producer, MPAA rating, friendship, homelessness, London, playwright, van, driveway, fact-based, poignant, hilarious, insight, loneliness, despair, glib comedy, character study, sentiment, thought-provoking, warm, witty, wonderful, forgettable, sweet, amusing, elegant, slow, talented, horror movies, MCU movies, Netflix series, TV shows, renewed, cancelled, premiere dates, accessibility
Worldwide gross: $41,387,687
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $51,010,265
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,316
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 5,562,733
US/Canada gross: NA
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $6,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $7,394,991
Production budget ranking: 1,795
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $3,982,203
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $39,633,071
ROI to date (est.): 348%
ROI ranking: 396
Alex Jennings – Alan Bennett
Roger Allam – Rufus
Deborah Findlay – Pauline
Frances de la Tour – Ursula Vaughan Williams
Gwen Taylor – Mam
Director(s)
Nicholas Hytner
Writer(s)
Alan Bennett
Producer(s)
Nicholas Hytner, Damian Jones, Kevin Loader
Film Festivals
Toronto
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award
1 win & 8 nominations total
Academy Awards
All Critics (151) | Top Critics (56) | Fresh (134) | Rotten (17)
The Lady in the Van follows a fairly typical old-people-are-more-than-they-seem storyline … The bizarreness of this true story is underplayed.
August 2, 2016 | Rating: 2.5/5
Roxana Hadadi
Chesapeake Family Magazine
TOP CRITIC
She’s not easy to love and the film is slow-going and a little laboured in its attempts to shape her idiosyncrasies into a plot, but the gradual revelation of the reasons for her decline give Smith plenty of opportunities to soften her grouchiness.
March 4, 2016 | Rating: 3/5
Sandra Hall
Sydney Morning Herald
TOP CRITIC
Bennett offers Maggie Smith a chance to renovate her own recent persona with a woman who’s heroically alive. Smith takes it with both hands, giving us more of the loneliness and despair of old age than the glib comedy.
March 4, 2016 | Rating: 4/5
Paul Byrnes
Sydney Morning Herald
TOP CRITIC
It’s as charming and enjoyable as it is decidedly lightweight.
February 26, 2016 | Rating: 3.5/5
David Stratton
The Australian
TOP CRITIC
Jennings’ portrayal isn’t as flashy as Smith’s – the things she can do with just a glance – but the balance they achieve is absolutely glorious.
February 12, 2016 | Rating: B
Tom Long
Detroit News
TOP CRITIC
Of course, the film’s showpiece is another incomparable lady, the always amazing Maggie Smith.
February 11, 2016 | Rating: 3/5
Steve Davis
Austin Chronicle
TOP CRITIC
The Lady in the Van shows us that respect and kindness is always the right way to go.
September 13, 2021
Hosea Rupprecht
Pauline Center for Media Studies
A character study of a difficult person contained in a movie that often errs on the side of sentiment, particularly in its fanciful final moments, but avoids caricature.
February 3, 2021 | Rating: 3/5
Richard Crouse
Richard Crouse
Warm, witty and wonderful, The Lady In The Van (and the Dame) is a pure delight!
November 29, 2019
Debbie Lynn Elias
Behind The Lens
It’s laugh-out-loud funny at times yet simultaneously layered and thought-provoking.
May 31, 2019 | Rating: 4/5
Alexa Dalby
Dog and Wolf
The Lady in the Van provides a pleasant ride, especially with the incomparable Maggie Smith at the wheel.
May 7, 2019 | Rating: 4/5
Cate Marquis
We Are Movie Geeks
A film suited more to her fans and theatre buffs, it’s hard to imagine there being any point to The Lady in the Van onscreen without Maggie Smith.
April 18, 2019 | Rating: 3/5
Tori Brazier
One Room With A View…
Plot
This movie tells the true story of Alan Bennett’s (Alex Jennings’) strained friendship with Miss Mary Shepherd (Dame Maggie Smith), an eccentric homeless woman who Bennett befriended in the 1970s before allowing her temporarily to park her Bedford van in the driveway of his Camden house. She stayed there for fifteen years. As the story develops, Bennett learns that Miss Shepherd is really Margaret Fairchild (died 1989), a former gifted pupil of pianist Alfred Cortot. She had played Chopin in a promenade concert, tried to become a nun, was committed to an institution by her brother, escaped, had an accident when her van was hit by a motorcyclist for which she believed herself to blame, and thereafter lived in fear of arrest.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
The Lady in the Van features a marvelous performance from Maggie Smith.
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