Seen any nostalgic movies lately?

In spite of a very busy writing schedule, some pretty active family events, and an amazingly task-filled and time-crunched month; I’ve somehow still managed to catch two note-worthy and rather nostalgic movies this August.

Each one was unique in its own way.

One movie I “loved;” and one movie I just “liked.” Today I’m going to share the one I LOVED called Mrs. Palfrey At The Claremont. Later (and eventually I will link the article back to this article when done;) I’m going to share the thoughts on the other movie I “liked” called Christopher Robin. Be watching for that review in the coming week.

MRS. PALFREY AT THE CLAREMONT

The first movie, the one I LOVED (maybe because I’m a woman over fifty with a taste for the nostalgic and the literary things of life) was called Mrs. Palfrey At The Claremont.

This isn’t a new or recent film; but it was produced back in 2005. Apparently, I was extremely busy in 2005, because somehow I missed this grand old movie. I’m so glad I was able to discover it this year! It wasn’t playing on the big screen at the theaters though. I actually sat down for a few hours and watched this one on cable television. I have a theory about cable television and that is they only show three noteworthy movies a year. This one was right up there at the top. I loved it.

I don’t always watch drama; because I find most of them either full of bad actors or lacking in story line. Even the very best of drama can sometimes be slow-moving and boring without the right mix of talent and plot; but the slightly slow movement of this movie was actually a bit delightful. It allowed you to savor and enjoy the perfect blend of good acting along with the sweet, gentle and sometimes unexpected twists and turns of the story which was plotting out the last days of an elegant elderly lady who wasn’t exactly living her life lovingly surrounded by friends and family. Fate showed up and came to her rescue, making the last stages of her life become rich and full.

It has been a very long time since I’ve found myself falling madly in love with an actor on the screen; but this happened when I watched Rupert Friend’s amazing acting in Mrs. Palfrey At The Claremont. Rupert Friend simply took my breath away. I feel head-over-heels in love with the character that he played in this movie.

Rupert Friend has been in one popular movie after another over the last ten or fifteen years; but somehow he had escaped my attention. All this time I had dismissed him as just another handsome actor among many, but missed REALLY seeing him for the amazing actor that he actually is. No more; his strong grasp of the art of portraying a person’s character truly hit me as I viewed this movie.

If I were a director of movies and I had to choose a character to play the impossible role of Jesus in a new movie script; I think the part would definitely go to Rupert Friend. His role here revealed the most sincere, honest and nonjudgmental character I’ve ever seen in a movie. Instantly he charms you and grabs your heart in a way that will never let you forget his face, his smile, his natural manner. He played the part of a substitute grandson to Mrs. Palfrey; because her real-life grandson had grown up to be a total jerk.

How strange to find out this movie was Rupert Friend’s FIRST big-screen role; and I would call it the very best work of his whole successful acting career. This role was not at all typical of the leading male roles seen in most of our modern-day movies. If I had to pick only one phrase to describe Rupert Friend’s character and personality as he portrayed Ludo in this movie; it would be “different from all the others.” He stands alone as one with unique and irreplaceable characteristics. His personality oozes with undiscovered talent as a writer and street musician.

Do you know anyone anywhere who can quote volumes of poetry from Keats, Blake and Wordsworth without even coming up for air? There were also songs and poems he didn’t know; but he had a knack for listening and appreciating them whenever someone was kind enough to bring them his way, which is what Mrs. Palfrey did. No other person could have pulled off this person called Ludovic in the same spell-binding way that Rupert Friend brought his character to life.

This movie was not complicated or complex; just simple and endearing.

It focused on my very favorite subject for a movie; destiny.

The set that mostly featured the dining room of the Claremont Hotel was a sort of retro-revival but there were other scenes of London and Beaulieu which were magically full of every special surprising thing I would have wanted to be included in a movie about every day and ordinary life. Little sprinkles of lovely that kept the odd old walls of the Claremont from totally consuming one’s vision.

Elizabeth Taylor wrote this charming story. Not the movie star that was married to Richard Burton; but the English novelist and short story writer who was born in 1912. This viewing of one of her many stories made me want to go back and read every novel that she has ever written and view all of the movies that they filmed from her books and stories (unfortunately) after she was too dead to enjoy the knowing.

What talent she had for making literary fiction come to life.

She is famous for capturing the magic of ordinary, everyday life which is just the such things that one enjoys in this lovely and touching movie. Much credit also goes to Ruth Sacks for writing the most amazing screenplay; and Dan Ireland’s genius in choosing Rupert Friend to play opposite Joan Plowright which was the stardust that made the direction of this movie a complete work of art.

Friend fell so naturally into the perfectly cast role of an unusually warm and amazingly brilliant young man who turned out to be a writer as well as an actor, song writer and musician, though he had not been discovered at the tender age of 26. One quickly got a sense of how deep his mind could go, and how attentive and in-tune he was to the present moment of life in which he existed. Nothing seemed to escape him; yet nothing rattled him either. All of his reactions were totally unexpected, very insightful and thoughtful; so very rare and charming and refreshing to find in a leading male role in a film.

He and Mrs. Palfrey, so beautifully played by Joan Plowright fell into an accidental friendship that melted together as naturally as butter on toast; despite their obvious age differences. They were kindred spirits in every way. He wound up being staged as her grandson in a whole comedy of awkward and amusing situations.

Joan Plowright, whom by the way; is the widow of Sir Lawrence Olivier, made the magic of this movie work its perfection. Had anyone else played the leading role, nothing would have come together so well. She was perfect for the part and pulled it off with elegance and charm. All of her years of acting culminated in this performance and showcased her superb and well-rounded talent for drama.

When I looked into the history of her acting career and the details of her life I was astounded. How may royal baroness’s do you know who were also acclaimed actresses? She gained that title of “accomplished actress” long before she married into royalty and title. Her acting fame began on the live stages of The Royal Court Theater Company. From there she played in many fantastic roles. She won a Tony for her performance in “A Taste of Honey” in 1961. She already had many distinguished roles on Broadway before she met and married Sir Lawrence Olivier after his divorce from Vivian Leigh. She was once quoted as to have regretted being called the “home wrecker” of his marriage to Vivian Leigh. I’m sure marriage to her famous husband was not an easy part to play either. She once said of their marriage; “If a man is touched by genius, he is not an ordinary person. He doesn’t lead an ordinary life. He has extremes of behavior which you understand and you just find a way not to be swept overboard by his demons.”

They led a very interesting life and Richard Burton was the best man at their wedding. Three children came from their years together, and Dame Joan Plowright continued her career in her husband’s productions as she raised her children. In those days she was affectionately known as Lady Olivier.

After Olivier’s death The Baroness went on to play in many more well-known movie roles produced in Hollywood . I loved her role in “Dennis The Menace” as Mrs. Wilson. It was one of her less serious roles; but she gave Mrs. Wilson’s character so well. I was sad to read that she had to turn down the role offered to her in “The Queen” produced in 2006 by Stephen Frears because of the fact that she was beginning to go blind. She went on to play a few more roles then retired and is now said to be completely blind.

How thankful we should be that she gave us Mrs. Palfrey before that happened. She must have known by this time that the end of her career was approaching. In 2014 it was confirmed that she had completely lost her sight and was going into retirement. The announcement brought her a last standing ovation from her fans in the audience. When told what was happening she said “How lovely of them!” This is one woman who has aged with total elegance and poise. I greatly admire that about her real life character.

When Rupert Friend stepped in as her leading man in the movie about Mrs. Palfrey; together they sang a song of the truest of friendships. The relationship between them was one where people are naturally drawn together just because they were meant to be a part of each other’s lives.

It had to be destiny; and this fact is even discussed in the movie at one point. Mrs. Palfrey’s story unintentionally played into the direct destiny of the events of this young writer’s life as if it were all a well orchestrated symphony being conducted by the best of the best conductors. Nothing could have been more remarkable than the essence of this genuine friendship of mutual respect and admiration which they held for one another. Life destinations unfolded quietly all around them because their friendship made the pieces all fall together for a perfect masterpiece of relevance in the end.

All of the elements of this story might actually have appeared quite boring had it not been for the interaction of the two main characters. Their personalities brought out the magic of every situation and moment in the movie, and all the others living around them in the background brought something special on the side. The combinations of the cast and how they worked together was like a perfect meal with dessert. Never has a movie cast been so meant for one another. Each character complimented the story just right and brought a little bit of the unexpected here and there; keeping the lack of fast-action and adventure from becoming boring or monotonous. Everyone was just what the doctor ordered with a cherry on the top and it all flowed into perfect plots in such a magical, yet casual way. One poignant, heart-rending event flowed into the other until the end brought forth bitter-sweet tears; yet a certain feeling of rightness, satisfaction and wonder.

Besides the great acting and the beautiful and meaningful script; one could really get lost in the lovely scenery of London and the surrounding areas that are shown during certain scenes of the movie, especially those of Bewley Castle and the Abbey at Beaulieu.

A little question and answer game that Mrs. P and her “imaginary-adopted” grandson played together over a dinner conversation led to his discovery of her favorite movie which turned out to be “Brief Encounter” and her favorite song which was “For All We Know.” I won’t spoil that part for you; but look for it and pay attention when you see it. His rendering of the song is very touching.

You are left with that question that always happens in films about true destiny. You keep wondering how something so ordinary and mundane could have become something so extraordinary and rare in the end.

Hence, this will become one of those rare movies that I intend to watch over and over again. I know I’ll memorize my favorite lines and repeat them over and over in later conversations with my grandchildren; especially the lines of Mrs. Palfrey as she speaks with her adopted grandson’s girlfriend as they visit the grounds of Bewley Castle together. She says “Destiny might lead us to the path, but the rest is up to us. Always remember to make the most of every moment. That is the single most important lesson of my life.”

As I grow older I will probably catch myself laughing and repeating the words of one of Mrs. P’s friend named Mrs. Arbuthnot, who kept telling Mrs. P not to worry about anything while she was at the Claremont because “you’re not allowed to die here.”

Another favorite line at the end of the movie summarizes everything so well; “There are people that cross our lives in tiny fractions of time, in the briefest of encounters, and yet they leave an indelible mark on our hearts and in our minds.”

I’ll leave you with this clip:

https://youtu.be/ZwihHW2ZQLg

By all means; see this movie before you die.

So; keep reading the blog for my review of the other movie called “Christopher Robin.” I get this feeling that my perspective on this movie may be slightly different from a lot of others. In the meantime – you can buy a copy of Mrs. Palfrey At The Claremont below.

Enjoy!