Director: Israel Horovitz

Screenplay: Israel Horovitz

Cast: Kevin Kline, Kristin Scott Thomas, Maggie Smith

Rating: 3⁄5

Maggie Smith is My Old Lady, or rather, Kevin Kline’s titular Old Lady. Mathias Gold (Kline) is an American who inherits a nice looking apartment in Paris from his late father. As a divorced fifty-something with very little to show for himself, he considers this to be a new start for him, until he finds out that the apartment itself has an unexpected resident and the French property law that does not work in his favour in any way; turns out, he actually needs to pay the elderly resident, Mathilde (Smith), a monthly sum of 2,200 Euros, as a part of a “viager” agreement.

What is advertised as a quirky comedy involving grown-ups, works well in the first half or so. The initial meeting between Kline and Smith hits all the right notes as they awkwardly discuss the financial aspect of this unique situation. “How old are you?” asks Kline boldly, after discovering that following the current resident’s death, the monthly payment will be no more. It involves Mathias trying to make as much money as possible, selling off various bits of furniture around the house, so that he can get by, whilst having to constantly butt heads with not only Mathilde, but also with her daughter living in the house. Chloé (Kristin Scott Thomas), whose hostility towards this unwelcome, scheming guest serves greatly towards the film’s comedic intentions, further demonstrates some great chemistry the three main actors share.

But then the narrative starts to take more and more serious turns. Personal problems from each side surface and it turns out the three characters share more things in common than they first realised. Recovering alcoholic Mathias has a lot of personal demons he needs to deal with, one of them being issues with his father who he was not at all close to. He has troubling stories from his childhood, having witnessed and gone through things that no child ever should, and believe it or not Mathilde is somewhat involved in Mathias’ troubles. The film has tonal difficulties trying to balance the comedy and the drama, but ultimately with My Old Lady it is a mix that does not quite work to the full extent.

The message it wants to convey is clear. Children of broken homes can be more damaged than they are willing to admit, with a more negative outcome of life and views on relationships, which is perhaps why one should think twice before fooling around with someone you should not, especially when there are children involved.

Thomas and Smith provide vibrant support for the film throughout, but in the end this is Kline’s show through and through. He shows an enormous range of diversity here, in addition to showing the audience that he is a more than competent singer.

The film never relies on the use of flashbacks to convey the pain the characters are going through. It relies heavily on actors’ long speeches, them reminiscing about the tough days they had. Kline has plenty of these, and nails every single one of them. His smooth transition from slapstick, dorky comedy in the beginning, to the more grounded, deeply heartbroken version of his character in the film’s second half is an impressive one, and it is through him My Old Lady manages to resonate emotionally.

An unwise decision of forcing a love story between the two singles never sits right. Kline and Thomas are supposed to connect through their shared pains of having had a difficult childhood. Kline’s role is well-established, but the limited one here is Thomas’. She is a brilliant actress, and there are hints of what Chloé went through living with Mathilde, but too little time is invested in the crucial female counterpart to Mathias, that the attraction the two of them share, appear more contrived than anything else.

Everything is deceptively simple. The atmosphere, the characters, even the trailer sells this as a light-hearted romantic comedy. But the reality is that My Old Lady sets out to delve a little deeper, exploring themes of finally growing up, coming to terms with childhood trauma, and trying to lead a happy life in spite of the past.