LADY IN THE VAN REVIEWED
“The Lady in the Van” is a stage to film adaptation of Alan Bennett’s memoirs. Maggie Smith recreates her stage role as the old lady in 1970s Britain who ventures into Bennett’s life. While a tale of an old woman camping out in a van might be too passive, it allows for character development and sustained drama. The film is wise not to carry out certain elements of the film. After all, we just need to see a relationship and its obvious conclusion.
Did Maggie Smith deserve an Oscar nomination for the role? Honestly, I felt it was a bit much to give her the Globe nomination. These are the kinds of roles that used to litter Hollywood and points beyond prior to 1980. If you go looking for this film during the week, I’d recommend approaching it fresh. Character drama requires something that I just don’t see in modern audiences. That being…patience.
SPECIAL FEATURES
- Deleted Scenes
- Blu-Ray exclusive featurette
- Commentary
- Featurette
A/V QUALITY STATS
- 1.85:1 1080p transfer
- DTS-HD 5.1 master audio track