Lady in the Van

A comedy based on the Alan Bennet’s real life relationship with his neighbour. Maggie Smith plays the homeless Miss Mary Shepherd who turns up in Camden one day with her van. Although she claimed it was only for three weeks, it turned out to last fifteen years. Bennett eventually allows her to park on his drive and she becomes his ungrateful neighbor who spurns good deeds done to her and remains a curious recluse in her van.

Maggie Smith as usual does not fail to deliver her witty one-liners with crisp airs and graces whilst surrounded by rubbish bags and a bright yellow camper van. Everyone in the neighborhood soon writes her off as a snob but as Bennett begins to get to the know the lady living in the van on his drive, he finds there’s a tragedy behind her story and a reason she seeks solace in her van on the streets.

This is definitely a true British feel-good film which any fan of Maggie Smith cannot fail to enjoy.

Lauren Howard