The Lady in the Van is a sweet comedy starring Maggie Smith as the lady in question and Alex Jennings as Alan Bennett and Alan Bennett. Alan Bennett is the real life playwright whose existence was invaded by a mysterious and eccentric lady in a van for 15 years. Alan talked to himself, hence Alex Jennings plays him twice.
[This post originally appeared at Time Goes By, written by Ronni Bennett. Thanks to Ronni for allowing me to reprint it here.] Not infrequently, I grumble out loud around here about how few roles, especially major roles, there are in film for elder actors. Our generation doesn’t get much representation on what in our youth was called the silver screen. …
The Lady in the Van stars Maggie Smith as a homeless woman, Mary Shepherd, who parks her van in a man’s driveway and leaves it there for 15 years. Alex Jennings plays writer Alan Bennett, the man whose driveway is appropriated. It’s based on a real story. The film is based on a play by the same name by Alan …
