The Lady in the Van

WARNING: This review is hidden because it reveals the content of the film.
Click here to show this review. The existence of this film mystifies me. Here was a woman who in all likelihood fell through the cracks of the social system and would be considered a "difficult client" by most social workers. However, she ought to have been strongly encouraged to remain under medical care given the evidence of a messy truck interior and an even messier situation outside the van eg. Garbage bags and piles of fecal material strewn about the driveway. What is more perplexing is Alan Bennet's decision to allow her "temporary" residency for 15 years on his property. Had she established some sort of "squatter's" rights? Of course, veteran actress, Maggie Smith (whose credits extend back to the 60s including Young Cassidy and The Pride of Miss Jean Brody) sank her teeth deeply into the role of the prickly, bullying, impossible Miss Shepard who had squandered her life as a concert pianist and later as a nun because of her innate lack of ability to get along with people. In this presentation of madness and homelessness and a life gone astray, I find there is little comedy.