Such a frustrating disappointment

Strong and Moving!

Excellent adaptation.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

After Lady in the van the family wanted to get more movies with Maggie Smith because Maggie Smith was kind of good in lady in the van to put it lightly. We got this along with Florence Foster Jenkins because of a deal. The box cover for My Old Lady seemed like a zany quirky comedy about a once wealthy man Mathias Gold(Kevin Kline) inheriting a apartment in Paris that unknowingly happens to come with Mathilde Girard(Maggie Smith) and her grown up daughter Chloé Girard (Kristin Scott Thomas). We did not get a comedy per say, but what we got did not exactly work either. Before I get into the negatives of this movie (there are a lot sadly) I want to say that the actors are not to blame. Maggie Smith when she is on screen performs as well as always same goes with Kristin Scott Thomas who makes the most of the material written to give a really great performance and Kevin Kline gives a decent job with what he is given. The film is not badly shot and Paris does always look nice. The film does have some story ideas that should make for an interesting story if they had been used better. The main trouble with this movie is the directing and writing which lead it to become a boring melodramatic film. It clearly wants to be the Oscar winning film with its quick shots of French architecture and landmarks. But there is no atmosphere to these shots, Paris feels lifeless and hollow with as much substance as a postcard. There is no real reason as to why the film is set Paris other then the fact that better movies have set themselves in Paris. The setting feels like it should be there because Oscar winning movies tend to set themselves in Paris. As mentioned the film does have some interesting ideas for a story regarding abuse and grief but none of it feel authentic despite everyone playing their characters well, it all feels lifeless and manipulative attempt to wring out tears from the viewer. The lack of sincerity in the writing again make me feel that the writers only put in darker elements because Oscar winning movies often put gritty elements into their movies. The comedy elements are not so much unfunny as just bland weak attempts at humor by Kevin Kline who just seems either bored or struggling with comedic timing. Again the film wants to make me laugh but not put in the correct timing to execute the joke correctly. Maggie Smith is seriously underused in this film, she does not do much, asides from sitting in chairs and talking long serious talks to either Kevin Kline or Kristin Scott Thomas about their problems which at the end of the movie just magically disappear and they all live happily ever after. The ending feels rushed and anti climatic because the conflict just vanishes. I would not recommend My Old Lady, it is wasted potential that focused too much on winning awards then creating a great story that would win awards.

I just watched this film last night and was so overwhelmed by one scene that I had to stop watching I was so upset. A number of people posting here have said how they disliked Mathias; that he was grasping, selfish etc. They really should have listened harder. What Mathias was describing was an unhappy childhood. A child who has been emotionally neglected often grows up with a personality disorder. They feel abandoned, have low self esteem, develop addictive and self destructive tendencies like alcohol and gambling. They have no happy memories and are likely to have trouble maintaining relationships. They may seem greedy but sometimes at least money is something tangible since they get little pleasure from human interaction. All these symptoms are clearly expressed by Mathias. He hates his father, but the hatred does not make him feel better. The fact that his father has told other people he is worthless only adds insult to injury. The writer of this knows about this and it is the only time I have ever seen this condition expressed in a film. I know, because I am a neglectful criminal father who has destroyed his son's life.

Nice cinematography, Paris is a great setting, but a bad movie.The McGuffin is that a dead broke and useless Kline has inherited an interest from his father in a Paris Condo. Dad's mistress still lives there with her daughter who may or may not be his half sister. Entirely predictable complications ensue.The plot could and should have been done in an hour. Way too much dialog, not enough actually happens.There were some completely contrived scenes. The worst was where Kline, playing the son of a mother dead by suicide, shoots a stuffed boar's head in his bedroom. Then the other characters pretend to think that maybe he too has shot himself. Oh well, it was the only remotely exciting scene in the whole thing.Summary: Predictable, boring.

I wasn't expecting much from this film but I was pleasantly surprised. 'My Old Lady' is a well-written, steady drama with a very simple storyline, but that's all that is needed.The relationship between the characters is what the film is all about and Maggie Smith and Kevin Kline were two perfect choices for the main characters. The humour is subtle but there's no doubt that this is a comedy-drama film and Maggie Smith is particularly funny.Sometimes less is more and 'My Old Lady' is certainly a testament to that. A very simple, slow film but just as effective as the more complicated, fast-paced dramas out there.