Review: How About You

Widowed Orla Brady runs an Irish countryside home for the elderly, and is forever fearful that the struggling home is due for foreclosure. When one of her parents takes gravely sick, straight-laced Brady must leave the home in the care of her younger and more rebellious sister Hayley Atwell (much more effective than in the later “Captain America”), over the Christmas break. A lot of the residents are at home with their families, and it’s not hard to see why the remaining four are left behind. They’re a strong-willed, fussy, and cantankerous foursome who prove to be awfully resistant of Atwell (who was initially hired by Brady as a maid) at first, and she doesn’t much like taking their demanding crap, either. There’s long-retired former actress Vanessa Redgrave (who acts the Diva and demands martinis), bickering spinster sisters Brenda Fricker (older and more domineering) and the perfectly cast Imelda Staunton (fussy and deeply insecure), and cranky old bastard former judge (and former alcoholic) Joss Ackland, who is very adamant of when his breakfast should be served in the morning, and loves to poke and prod his uptight cohabitants. The inexperienced and frankly bratty Atwell has her work cut out for her with this lot (especially with the impatient early wakeup calls), but slowly the relationship between young and old starts to settle down. Joan O’Hara appears early on as another resident who is dying, and is happy to accept a joint or two from Atwell (for the pain, of course), displeasing Brady.

 

Going into this 2007 Irish film from director Anthony Byrne and writer Jean Pasley, all I knew was Vanessa Redgrave was in it (she also has a go at the well-known title song), and that the reviews had been mixed. I didn’t even know at the time that it was based on a short story by one of my mother’s favourite authors, Maeve Binchy. Turns out, it’s actually a nice, amusing, and occasionally moving little comedy-drama starring some fine British talent. In fact, it’s better than another, more high-profile British film about old fogeys played by veteran British actors, “Last Orders”. There’s not much to it, and it takes a little while to get going, but it’s one of the more interesting looks at old age and the possibility/inevitability of death. And yet, it’s often funny and far from being dreary, though there are indeed moments of sadness.

 

 

Joss Ackland’s booming voice is excellently used to convey a deep, long-held sense of regret for all the years he spent drunk and he misses his dearly departed wife. O’Hara’s few scenes, meanwhile, are truly touching as this end point in her life seems to have given her a new set of eyes to gaze upon the world (or what small part of the world her current accommodations allow). But all of these actors are vital (the gorgeous Atwell provides a crucial difference as she refuses to let her and Brady become like Fricker and Staunton one day) in effortlessly inhabiting these roles. I mean, let’s face it, only Vanessa Redgrave (or Dame Maggie Smith) could play the role Redgrave does. It almost seems to be written especially for her.

 

Although the ending is a little too abrupt for my liking, this is a nice, sensitive, occasionally funny film that seems to cover most of the issues relating to the elderly, the good, the bad, and the crotchety. It ain’t easy being old, you know. It also suggests that the young have much to learn from the elderly (each of the residents has a secret/talent that Atwell gets to uncover throughout the film), and that the young are always good for a joint. It’s a film about respect and dignity, and a very, very dysfunctional family. It makes you want to spend more time getting to know the elderly people in your life, or otherwise makes you lament that you didn’t spend more time with those who are now lost.

 

This film is nothing new, but there’s an authenticity to it in the performances and an affection for the cast that is irresistible. Definitely worth a look if you like your veteran British actors or feel you might relate to the material.

 

Rating: B-