January 27, 2016 The Skanner Page 7
Arts & Entertainment
Film Review: ‘The Lady in the Van’ a Touching Tale of Empathy
Celebrated Playwright and Down-and-Out Pensioner Forge Unlikely Friendship in Bittersweet Docudrama
By Kam Williams
Of The Skanner News
F
or a half-dozen sea-
sons, Dame Maggie
Smith has been de-
lighting television
viewers as dowager Vi-
olet Crawley on Down-
ton Abbey. Younger
fans of the show might
be unaware that she’s a
two-time Oscar-winner
(for California Suite and
The Prime of Miss Jean
Brodie) who had already
enjoyed an illustrious ca-
reer prior to appearing
on the the hit PBS series.
In The Lady in the Van,
she’s been cast as a char-
acter practically the
polar opposite of the im-
perious aristocrat we’ve
come to love. For, Marga-
ret Shepherd is a down-
and-out homeless wom-
an humbled by having to
live out of a van which
she parks on the street
in the Camden Town sec-
tion of North London.
At the point of depar-
ture in the early 1970s,
we learn that Marga-
ret’s miserable plight is
substantially one of her
making. She’s been on
the run for five years
since leaving the scene
of a fatal hit-and-run car
accident.
And while the devout
Catholic has confessed
the sin to her priest, she
could never quite bring
herself to surrender to
the authorities. Conse-
quently, she’s forever
looking over her shoul-
der, fearful that her ar-
rest might be imminent.
The plot thickens when
she can’t afford to fix her
misfiring jalopy sore-
ly in need of a tune-up.
Most of the owners in the
upscale neighborhood
where the van is sitting
would simply like to see
the eyesore towed away
from the block once and
for all.
But, for some reason,
Alan Bennett (Alex Jen-
nings) feels compassion
for the ostensibly over-
whelmed octagenarian,
perhaps because he has
a mother also of ad-
vanced age. So, against
his better judgment, the
famous writer allows “
Miss Shepherd” to park
her disabled car in the
driveway on the express
understanding that this
will be a temporary ar-
rangement.
But Alan proves to be
such a soft touch that the
Film Review: ‘Requiem for the
American Dream’ a Rallying Cry
Documentary tells of the demise of the middle-class
M
IT Professor Noam Chomsky
has been an outspoken critic
of the Establishment ever since
opposing the Vietnam War way
back in the 1960s. At 87, the contro-
versial firebrand is now decrying the
incredible gulf between the filthy rich
and the rest of us.
He is the subject of Requiem for the
American Dream, a cautionary docu-
mentary delineating the consequences
lying in wait for a nation where wealth
is concentrated in the hands of the top
one-tenths of 1 percent at the expense of
the rapidly-disappearing middle-class.
Co-directed by Peter D. Hutchison,
Kelly Nyks and Jared P. Scott, the movie
was culled from interviews conduct-
“
from
the
host of do-
mestic pro-
grams
im-
plemented
by President
Roosevelt.
H o w e v e r,
the affluent
have always
hated
the
New
Deal,
Noam Chomsky, pictured e s p e c i a l l y
here at a 2004 anti-war Social Secu-
demonstration in Vancouver, rity and the
B.C., is the subject of a new G l a s s - S t e a -
documentary on the decline gall
Act,
of the American middle class. which
ex-
plains why
they have repeatedly attempted to re-
peal those measures.
PHOTO BY DUNCAN RAWLINSON (CC BY 2.0) VIA
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
By Kam Williams
Of The Skanner News
...wealth is concentrated in the hands of the
top one-tenths of 1 percent at the expense of
the rapidly-disappearing middle-class
ed with Chomsky over the past four
years. Nevertheless, the talented trio
managed to edit the footage into a very
engaging and enlightening monologue
bemoaning the current state of the
union. The upshot is a fascinating film
featuring a “less-is-more” format rem-
iniscent of the one employed by Errol
Morris in his Oscar-winning Fog of
War (2003).
The picture basically consists of
close-ups of Chomsky shot against a
black backdrop as he talks about the
Machiavellian manipulations em-
ployed by the power elite. It also in-
termittently interweaves illustrative
file footage of suffering and decadence
into the production to help drive home
the aging grass roots activist’s salient
points.
Chomsky begins by waxing romantic
about the “golden age” of the 1950s and
1960s when the American dream was
still within the grasp of the average
Joe. He says that was the period when
the U.S. populace benefited the most
Chomsky states that, in addition, the
privileged have deliberately crippled
our democracy to such a degree that
public opinion no longer has any influ-
ence on politicians. Just consider how
it has been impossible to get Congress
to pass a bill making it harder for the
mentally ill to purchase a gun, despite
the fact that the overwhelming majori-
ty of voters support the common sense
idea.
Overall, what we have here is vintage
Chomsky. He’s issuing a rabble-rous-
ing rallying cry intended to rouse the
masses before it’s too late. America
redefined as a civilization in sharp de-
cline and on the verge of collapse be-
cause of the very greedy’s systematic
elimination of class mobility from the
society.
Excellent HHHH
Unrated
Running time: 73 min.
Studio: PF Pictures
Distributor: Gravitas Ventures
Smith looks oh so re-
laxed onscreen in the
role she originated on-
stage, whether cadging
for alms on the pavement
or exhibiting pangs of
remorse about the crash
which left her in dire
straits. Just as effective is
Alex Jennings’ interpre-
tation of Bennett as a ter-
minally-conflicted soul
constantly carrying on
an inner dialogue with
himself.
A touching tale of em-
pathy blessed by a cou-
ple of equally-endearing
performances that are
nothing short of inspired.
Maggie Smith and Alex Jennings star in ‘The Lady in the Van.’
cantankerous old coot
ends up squatting on
his property for the
next 15 years. Can a
Tony Award-winning
playwright and a
feisty pensioner coex-
ist peacefully in such
crazy conditions?
That is the question
at the heart of The Lady
in the Van, a heartwarm-
ing dramedy inspired
by actual events. The
film was adapted from
Bennett’s 1999 theatri-
cal production of the
same name which also
starred Maggie Smith.
Excellent HHHH
Rated PG-13 for a
disturbing image
Running time: 104 min.
Distributor: Sony
Pictures Classics
View movie trailers at
TheSkanner.com