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"LADIES IN LAVENDER"
(2005) (Judi Dench, Maggie Smith) (PG-13)

Alcohol/
Drugs
Blood/Gore Disrespectful/
Bad Attitude
Frightening/
Tense Scenes
Guns/
Weapons
Moderate Minor Heavy Minor None
Imitative
Behavior
Jump
Scenes
Music
(Scary/Tense)
Music
(Inappropriate)
Profanity
Mild None Mild None Heavy
Sex/
Nudity
Smoking Tense Family
Scenes
Topics To
Talk About
Violence
Mild Mild Minor Mild Minor


QUICK TAKE:
Drama: When a stranger washes up on the shore of their small coastal town, two sisters take it upon themselves to nurse him back to health, unaware of the impact he'll have on their and the other residents' lives.
PLOT:
It's 1936 Cornwall, and Europe is on the brink of war. But in this small coastal town, such events only play out on the radios of the likes of Janet (MAGGIE SMITH) and Ursula Widdington (JUDI DENCH), two elderly sisters who live along the sea. Nothing much happens in their lives and they seem content that way, but things change when they discover a body lying in the surf following a bad storm the night before.

It turns out to be Andrea Marowski (DANIEL BRUHL), a Polish man with a broken ankle who doesn't speak any English. Due to the language barrier, no one knows where he came from, but after the local physician Dr. Mead (DAVID WARNER) tends to him, Janet and Ursula -- with the aide of their maid Dorcas (MIRIAM MARGOLYES) -- nurse him back to health.

As the weeks pass, the sisters watch over him, with Ursula seemingly having some sort of odd obsession toward him, somewhat motherly yet slightly romantic. Andrea only thinks she's being kind, and surprises everyone when he demonstrates that he's a concert-level violinist. That attracts the attention of Olga Danilof (NATASCHA McELHONE), a new artist in town who also takes a liking to him.

Janet and Ursula are wary of her interest in him, especially since both speak fluent German. As the days continue to pass and Andrea expresses his desire to go to America, everyone begins to question his and Olga's motives, all as Ursula finds herself falling for this man who's many decades younger than she is.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?
Unless they're a fan of someone in the cast, it's highly unlikely.
WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG-13
For brief strong language.
CAST AS ROLE MODELS:
  • JUDI DENCH plays an older woman who finds herself protective of and then falling for Andrea when he washes up by her home.
  • MAGGIE SMITH plays her sister who becomes concerned when she realizes her sister's obsession.
  • DANIEL BRUHL plays a Polish man who washes up on their shore and then becomes a patient of sorts to them as they nurse him back to health. It turns out he's a concert-level violinist who breaks Ursula's heart once he starts going out of the house and seemingly becomes interested in Olga. He also drinks some and is drunk in one scene.
  • NATASCHA McELHONE plays a stranger in the town, an artist who takes a liking to Andrea, arousing suspicion in some minds that she could be a German spy. She drinks and smokes a bit.
  • MIRIAM MARGOLYES plays the sisters' maid who has a sharp wit and somewhat short patience.
  • DAVID WARNER plays the local doctor who finds himself attracted to Olga but is jealous of the stranger. He smokes a pipe several times and drinks a bit.
  • CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO

    HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE


    Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit?
    Then read OUR TAKE of this film.


    (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below).


    OUR WORD TO PARENTS:
    Here's a brief summary of the content found in this period drama that's been rated PG-13. Profanity consists of 1 "f" word, while a handful of colorful phrases are present. A dream shows a couple rolling around (clothed) on the ground with some brief nuzzling, but nothing that's explicit or steamy. Various characters have bad attitudes, while a few scenes briefly show a person being tossed about in a dark and stormy surf, and a man pushes another man up against a wall.

    Some characters smoke and/or drink, with one ending up drunk, while he's partially seen urinating against a wall earlier. Should you still be concerned about the film's appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home, you may want to look more closely at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content.


    ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE
  • Janet tells Ursula to ask another person for some brandy when she rushes off to get help for Andrea who's washed up on their shore.
  • Miscellaneous people drink in a pub.
  • Olga may have a drink.
  • Miscellaneous people drink at a gathering.
  • We see Andrea back at the sisters' home at night, drunk and lying on the floor. The next morning he has a hangover.
  • Dr. Mead briefly mentions a building some man built where he and his cronies drank.
  • Olga has a drink.
  • We see a drink by Olga as she does some artwork.
  • Miscellaneous people drink in a pub, including Dr. Mead. Olga then joins him and offers to buy him a drink (he's having whiskey and soda, while she orders a pint of beer, as does Andrea who then joins them).
  • Some miscellaneous people have champagne following a concert.
  • BLOOD/GORE
  • We see Dorcas emptying a chamber pot into a period water closet (toilet), but don't see the contents of either.
  • We see Andrea standing up at a wall, urinating (we don't see the stream, but do see a wet spot on the wall). When he's done, an older man assumes the same position at the same place.
  • We see a slight bruise on Andrea's ankle after it's been healing for a while.
  • DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE
  • Ursula and Janet develop some minor bad attitudes toward each other once Andrea enters their lives.
  • Some old men comment about Dorcas being a "cracker" (or something like that) many decades ago (but we didn't understand the context, if it was disrespectful, sexual or what).
  • Hearing Andrea's music, Olga stops by, but Janet is somewhat rude to her (being curt and closing the window on her).
  • In his native tongue (that she can't understand and in response to her making him peel potatoes), Andrea says that Dorcas looks like a potato and then corrects that to be a sack of potatoes.
  • A local guy is upset that a local girl seems to like Andrea. Accordingly, he rushes Andrea, grabs him by his clothes and pushes him against a wall while warning, "Keep your foreign f*cking eyes off her."
  • Janet says she knows it's not the Christian thing, but then continues that she dislikes Olga intensely, while Ursula equates her to a witch in a fairy tale after saying she frightens her (with neither barely knowing her).
  • Rather than give Andrea a letter from Olga, Ursula and Janet purposefully keep it from him, with the latter eventually burning it.
  • Dr. Mead somewhat spies on/stalks Olga while parked in his car outside her place, watching her with binoculars.
  • Dr. Mead informs the local constable about Andrea (being jealous of Olga's apparent attraction to him), making the latter believe he might be a spy. When the constable asks the sisters about the stranger, Janet ends up lying to him to protect Andrea.
  • FRIGHTENING SCENES
  • We briefly see some underwater shots of Andrea being tossed about in the dark and stormy surf. The next morning, Ursula and Janet spot his body lying on the beach and go to him, afraid that he's dead (but he's just unconscious).
  • We see a brief flashback to Andrea being tossed about underwater in the dark surf, as we hear some shouting from up above.
  • Andrea goes for a swim in the sea and then disappears, giving the sisters quite a fright, including when he drags himself up to the shore. He then laughs and lets them know he was just playing around.
  • GUNS/WEAPONS
  • None.
  • IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR
  • Some of the accents are occasionally a bit thick, thus making it hard sometimes to understand the dialogue. That said, we heard the following phrases: "Keep your foreign f*cking eyes off her," "Get on with it" and "You look like a potato."
  • Andrea belches while hung-over.
  • Andrea goes for a swim in the sea and then disappears, giving the sisters quite a fright, including when he drags himself up to the shore. He then laughs and lets them know he was just playing around.
  • Dr. Mead somewhat spies on/stalks Olga while parked in his car outside her place, watching her with binoculars.
  • JUMP SCENES
  • None.
  • MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE)
  • A mild amount of slightly ominous music briefly plays in several scenes.
  • MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE)
  • None.
  • PROFANITY
  • At least 1 "f" word and 1 use each of "Christ Almighty," "Good God" and "Oh Good Lord."
  • SEX/NUDITY
  • Some of the accents are occasionally a bit thick, thus making it hard sometimes to understand the dialogue. That said, we heard the following:
  • When the ladies talk of getting a change of clothes for Andrea, Dorcas jokes that he doesn't have anything she hasn't seen before (referring to his body).
  • Some old men comment about Dorcas being a "cracker" (or something like that) many decades ago (but we didn't understand the context, if it was disrespectful, sexual or what).
  • Ursula has a dream that seems to show a young version of herself rolling around with Andrea on the grassy ground (clothed), with him doing some brief nuzzling at her neck. The young woman then turns into Olga, but nothing else happens.
  • Andrea gets the impression that Olga wants to kiss her, but when he leans in to do that, she tells him he should go.
  • SMOKING
  • Olga smokes at least 3 times, Dr. Mead twice smokes a pipe, and some miscellaneous characters smoke in a few scenes.
  • TENSE FAMILY SCENES
  • Dr. Mead briefly mentions his late wife.
  • There's brief talk of Janet's late husband and him being killed in the war (presumably WWI).
  • TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT
  • The fact that Ursula becomes romantically attracted to Andrea (who's many decades younger than her).
  • Obsessions.
  • We hear various brief references on the radio to European conflict that will eventually lead to WWII.
  • VIOLENCE
  • We briefly see some underwater shots of Andrea being tossed about in the dark and stormy surf. We later hear that he broke his ankle during that or sometime before it and then see another flashback of the underwater shots.
  • A local guy is upset that a local girl seems to like Andrea. Accordingly, he rushes Andrea, grabs him by his clothes and pushes him against a wall while warning, "Keep your foreign f*cking eyes off her."
  • A fisherman playfully throws a large fish at Andrea on the shore.



  • Reviewed May 20, 2005 / Posted May 27, 2005

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