11 out of 11 people found the following review helpful:

Very Poor -

Sarahlongley from from Edinburgh, 29th August, 2008

This is disappointing adaptation of a very good Elizabeth Taylor novel. The heart of the story is the developing friendship between an old lady(Mrs Palfrey) and a feckless young writer(Desmond). The film over-sentimentalizes the story to the point of overdose. The Desmond character is far less innocent in the book and much more interesting, his friendship with Mrs. Palfrey becomes something insidious. None of this is captured in the film. Also the modern setting seems weirdly jarring. There are a couple of funny lines (on the strength of the writing) but that doesn't rescue the film from mediocrity. Joan Plowright's nostril flaring is unbearable.

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5 out of 5 people found the following review helpful:

Gentle charm

A Customer from Innerleithen, 9th December, 2008

A simple story, nicely told with good performances mostly by some well known faces of the older generation of British actors. The film is largely a vehicle for a fine central performance by Joan Plowright as the eponymous elderly widow settling into life in a faded, genteel London hotel with its mainly elderly occupants. The theme of the film is of a friendship that develops between her and a handsome, young writer—a charming, though somewhat unbelievable scenario. One of the pleasures of the film for me is the amazing array of lovely, expensive-looking and flattering clothes that Ms Plowright changes into several times a day. I wonder how they fitted into the small number of suitcases she arrived with at the hotel and how she fitted them into the small hotel wardrobe?

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3 out of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2 stars says it all

A Customer from Derbyshire, 27th January, 2009

OK, the costumes and settings were nice to look at; but in the wake of the recent wonderful Agatha Christie adaptations (Joan Hickson and David Suchet) this is almost obligatory. I like a bit of sentiment as much as the next middle aged lady but as a long standing fan of Georgette Heyer I dread to think what she would have thought of this,

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Straightforward British film

A Customer from Newcastle upon Tyne, 15th September, 2009

I looked forward to the film, as I discovered Elizabeth Taylor's book fairly recently. The film (as so often) is much less subtle than the book, and at the same time omits or alters some parts of the story. However, with such a cast of luminaries it couldn't completely fail and it was entertaining in a quiet way, if not nearly as thought-provoking as the book.

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Cheesy

BallLinny from , 11th September, 2009

Okay if you like lots of cheese and handsome young men.

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A wonderful surprise

A Customer from The Cotswolds, 12th August, 2009

Friendship between young and old. Charming, moving, amusing. And you could hear every word - not like those now being churned out by H-------d.

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