DECEMBER 8, 2015
It’s heresy, I know. But I didn’t like Maggie Smith in “The Lady in the Van.”
To be clearer, I didn’t like how her character, a homeless woman who claims her name is Mary Shepherd, is written. In 1974, Mary has all of her earthly belongings in her dilapidated van, which she decides to park across from the suburban home of playwright Alan Bennett (Alex Jennings). Though the neighbors are aghast at this new resident, Bennett takes a curious interest in her. When she becomes the victim of attacks, first by hooligans, then by an extortionist (Jim Broadbent), Bennett suggests that she pulls her van into his driveway, a move that, Mary assures him, will only be temporary. She stayed there for 15 years.
This really happened to Alan Bennett, one of Britain’s most esteemed playwrights, and he dramatized Mary’s story in a 1999 play, which was nominated for Olivier Awards for Best Play and Best Actress for Smith. The play was also adapted for radio in a 2009 production also starring Smith. So Nicholas Hynter’s film is her third crack at the role.
The transition from stage to screen I found to be a bit rocky. Bennett uses a theatrical conceit to split his personalities — there’s Alan Bennett the person (Jennings) who interacts with Mary and their neighbors, and then there’s Alan Bennett the writer (also Jennings) who sits back and observes the goings-on — with several scenes focusing on the conversations that these two Alans have with each other. I trust this worked better on the stage.
Then there’s Dame Maggie. There are many Dame Maggies. There’s the Imperial Dame Maggie, the one we know and love from “Gosford Park” through “Downton Abbey.” There’s the Serious Dame Maggie, whom we saw in many of her early films in the 1960s. But what we have here is Dotty Dame Maggie, all fidgety and mannered when she’s not being downright grumpy. And that’s fun for a while. But as Bennett begins to learn more about Mary’s past life, her dotty approach to the character makes less sense.
It seems that Mary’s real name is Margaret Fairchild, who was a child prodigy taught by the noted pianist Alfred Cortot. She tried but failed to become a nun and was institutionalized by her brother. She escaped and later was involved in a fatal hit-and-run accident with a motorcyclist and has been fleeing from the authorities ever since. Except for a noodling with a piano now and then and an occasional nightmare involving the motorcyclist, you would have no idea how this dramatic backstory shaped her character. She is just played as dotty, which is a shame.
“The Lady in the Van” is not without its pleasures. Smith’s timing with one-liners is as devastatingly funny as ever. And Bennett has surrounded himself with some pals from his triumphant 2004 play and 2006 film of “The History Boys” — Frances de la Tour (wonderful as a supportive neighbor), Dominic Cooper, Russell Tovey and James Corden (who is a hoot in a cameo as a street vendor).
At age 80, let’s be grateful that Dame Maggie is still putting herself out there. She’s as sharp as ever, but unfortunately, the material in “The Lady in the Van” fails her.
“The Lady in the Van” is playing through Thursday in theaters in New York and Los Angeles for an Oscar-qualifying run. The film will return to theaters on January 15 for a national release.
GRADE: C
