David Holt (rawiri42) How beautiful it is to see a movie about the gentler and genteeler sides of life. No gratuitous foul language, no violence, just nice (albeit some quirky) people being nice.There isn't really a lot one can say about Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont and, some viewers might rubbish it as being slow due to the lack of any sort of wild car chases, shootings, riots or zombies (etc.) but those viewers are obviously missing out on a side of life that seems to be slowly disappearing - although, as long as there are still people like Ludovic and Gwendoline in the world, maybe there is still a dram of hope for the softer things.So, if you're looking for heaps of action and excitement, you probably won't enjoy Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont. However, if you want a pleasant afternoon's entertainment in peace and quiet, get the DVD and watch it with a nice glass of your favourite wine at home. It will warm your heart.

Neil Turner This film has everything - unique locations - lovable, quirky characters - a heartfelt story - honest, understated directing - superior acting.Mrs. Palfrey is an elderly lady who decides to spend some time in a residence hotel in London. There she leads a pleasant but lonely life looking back upon her life and memories of her deceased husband - her one true love. She has a grandson in London, but he doesn't even pay the courtesy of returning his grandmother's phone calls.One day, Mrs. Palfrey falls on the sidewalk outside the apartment of a young man, Ludovic Meyer, who immediately comes to her rescue. He is a handsome, charming failed writer who has recently been abandoned by his girlfriend because he won't follow a more practical lifestyle.There is almost an immediate bond between Mrs. Palfrey and Ludovic. To her, Ludovic is a substitute for her absent grandson and, more importantly, a reminder of her late husband. To him, Mrs. Palfrey is an intelligent woman who understands his art and his struggle for his art and, more importantly, a substitute for an unusual, distant mother. They share each other's memories and dreams.Surrounding the two main characters is a plethora of personalities in the supporting characters - most of whom are other residents at the Claremont. All of the actors in the film create intriguing, unforgettable people, but Joan Plowright and Rupert Friend as the leads are extraordinary.This little film is a joy to watch and a very important reminder of the need and necessity for true and supporting connections between human beings of all ages.

Al Rodbell My wife and I are in our sixties, on the cusp of the people who lived in the Claremont. Memories dim, connections become tenuous, and the good moments are all the more precious. As we watched it at home in our den, just the two of us together, without a word to each other, we realized our good fortune to have each other, to share experiences such as this. This film was inspired, yet true to the reality of those at the two poles of adulthood; Mrs. Palefry with her memories, and Ludovic, uncertain whether life is an insurmountable challenge or a delightful complexity to be unraveled and shared through his writing.While meeting "cute" could be a cinematic cliché, the genuineness of the characters immediately dispelled that thought, mostly because we cared about these people from the beginning. Every person who appeared in the film, from the forlorn doorman, the waitress, the hotel residents, all were people with real lives, whom we just didn't get quite enough time to get to know better.The scene where the three residents spontaneously joined in singing of "Autumnal Romance," took the risk of turning this serious film into a parody of a musical. It was a risk wisely taken, since those musicals are abstractions of human spirit that is quite real.Ludivic's singing the words, "For all we know," but to a different melody, was a stroke of brilliance, as it focused on the poetry, the touching mystery of these lyrics, disconnected from the enchanting music.If life is, as the song suggests, "only a dream," an ephemeral vivid simulacrum of life, usually lost upon awakening; this film managed to give this singular dream a permanence that will be treasured by young and old alike.

gradyharp MRS. PALFREY AT THE CLAREMONT is an adaptation by Ruth Sacks of the book by British novelist Elizabeth Taylor (1912 - 1975) and directed with consummate skill by Dan Ireland. It is a showcase for the extraordinary talents of Dame Joan Plowright who owns the title role and of relative newcomer Rupert Friend, surely an actor to watch rise.Mrs. Palfrey (Plowright) is recently widowed and decides to move to a small hotel in London to spend her last years as a lady of independence. The Claremont is a crumbling old edifice that serves as a retirement home for a small but fascinating group of tenants: the fastidious but cranky Mrs. Arbuthnot (Anna Massey), a would-be suitor for Mrs. Palfrey's hand Mr. Osborne (Robert Lang), Mrs. Post (Marcia Warren), the nosy matchmaker Mrs. Burton (Georgina Hale), and a strange old couple, the De Salises (Millicent Martin and Michael Culkin). Once settled into her barely navigable room, Mrs. Palfrey meets her fellow 'inmates' at dinner, and announces that she has a grandson who will be calling on her at times. Yet despite multiple attempts her grandson Desmond (Lorcan O'Toole) doesn't respond and Mrs. Palfrey realizes she has entered a world of loneliness.Out on an errand she falls and is befriended by a handsome young busker/writer Ludovic Meyer (Rupert Friend) who nurses her leg wound, makes her tea, and escorts her home. Ludo is a loner and lonely and when Mrs. Palfrey offers him dinner at the hotel he gladly accepts. But at the hotel the guests presume that Mrs. Palfrey's guest will be her grandson Desmond: Mrs. Palfrey hastily informs Ludo that she has erred and Ludo agrees to pose as her grandson. The guests at the hotel are charmed by Ludo, and Mrs. Palfrey and Ludo grow increasingly bonded - they share many likes and tastes and meld into a beautiful relationship that would be the envy of any grandmother and grandson. Mrs. Palfrey's loneliness is dissipated by Ludo and the effect is vice versa. How the two progress to the end of the film, finding new lives from old ones, forms the immensely touching finale to the film. Though this film falls into the 'ensemble acting' category, so finely entwined are the performances of every actor in the cast, the film clearly belongs to Dame Joan Plowright whose performance once again proves that she is one of the durable treasures of cinema and stage. This is a film that will touch the hearts of even the most hardened viewers and this viewer cannot recommend it more highly. Grady Harp, December 06