Regular readers of my comments will recognize a familiar refrain when I complain that too many modern movies — especially action adventures — have a failing when they depict actions without consequences. Sure, movies are fantasy, but realistic consequences always follow every deed, accomplishment, exploit or conflict that any story presents, and too many movies fail to even acknowledge the aftermaths of their scenarios. This, however, is not the case with My Old Lady, which is a movie all about consequences, aftereffects, repercussions and upshots.
A rumpled American (Kevin Kline) arrives in Paris to collect his inheritance: a dusty two-story apartment building with a garden — and an elderly tenant (Maggie Smith) with lifetime residential rights. This snag to Kline’s plans for a quick cash sale of the property becomes ever more complicated as Smith’s relationship with Kline’s deceased father is exposed and her daughter (Kristin Scott Thomas) and Kline are forced to reconcile the secrets of the past with the problems of the present.
Writer-director Israel Horovitz, who based the film on his play of the same name, establishes the story as an uncomfortable comedy with Kline as an ugly American willing to evict a lonely old woman so he can sell the place as quickly as possible. Little by little, however, the past seeps into the story and we learn, as does he, just how the old lady came to be ensconced in this apartment and how her presence there has unknowingly affected his entire life. With the past comes secrets, revelations, comprehension and, eventually, understanding, if not forgiveness.
The film’s origin as a play is evident mainly in the dialogue, but Horovitz has done a nice job tuning it cinematically. Its transition from comedy to drama is smooth and natural, intertwining amusing and tragic moments with skillful alacrity. The trio of characters, stuck with each other in the darkened apartment, constantly evolve with each newly revealed intimacy or long-buried surprise. And every emotion, feeling and memory is triggered by decisions that were made long, long before; these three characters are dealing with the inevitable consequences of those decisions.
With talents like Kevin Kline, Maggie Smith and Kristin Scott Thomas of course this is an actor’s showcase. Everyone has their moments to shine, and they all do. Kline has the flashiest role because his character’s world is turned completely inside out by his sojourn to the City of Lights, but he is well balanced by the no-nonsense clarity of Maggie Smith and the desperate winsomeness of Kristin Scott Thomas. The film cannot completely escape an aura of theatricality yet that does not detract from its delivery of powerful dramatic content. ☆ ☆ ☆. 15 October 2014.