KO Review of My Old Lady

New to DVD is My Old Lady. A film starring Academy award winnersKevin Kline, Maggie Smith and nominated Kristin Scott Thomas. New Yorker Mattias Gold (played by Klein) inherits a Parisian apartment through passing of his father. Once he arrives in Paris and goes through the French legal system to collect his inheritance he discovers endless family secrets. In addition to the secrets he also inherits the very stubborn Mathilde (played by Smith) who ends up being his live-in tenant and her daughter Chloe (Scott Thomas). After a rough start, Mattias grows fond of Chloe.

If you are into middle-aged family drama, this is the film for you. If you love watching Dr. Phil or Keeping Up With the Kardashian’s… this has the same level of family issues, but is much classier, and you can even discuss it over wine with your friends at book club. There are twists and turns in the plot of My Old Lady that will leave you scratching your head, and climactic revelations (a la Maury Povich paternity tests), the end in resolve. Unlike your typical Parisian drama. Mattias discovers the romantic history between his tenant Mathilde and his father, a romance that lasted over half a century.

My Old Lady is written and directed by Israel Horovitz.  Horovitz is the most produced American playwright in French theatre history and has recently been decorated as Commandeur de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, France’s highest honour for foreign artists.  He has written over 70 plays that have been translated and performed in more than 30 languages worldwide. Horovitz has also written numerous award winning screenplays including The Strawberry Statement, which took the jury prize at Cannes in 1970, the Al Pacino comedy Author! Author! and Sunshine, the winner of the 1999 European Film Award for Best Screenplay.

My Old Lady is available to purchase or rent on itunes.

Photos Courtesy of Cohen Media Group