This is a really sweet film. It's like the OAP version of Thelma and Louise.
The film revolves around Helen and Pricilla, played by Joan and Pauline Collins.
Helen is a narcissistic former film star, who was huge back in the 1960's, but since then she's been forgotten, all after she fell apart, and disappeared from the public eye, some years ago. She hasn't accepted the fact that it's over for her, even though when we first meet her, she is being taken out for a trip from an old people's home.
Priscilla's very Mumsie. She is just a likable person. Sadly, her husband treats her like crap, and she is living an albeit comfortable, yet miserable life. She accidentally gets caught up in the old people's trip, and our story begins.
There is also the small, yet memorable part of Alberto, played by Franco Nero. Alberto is an Italian artist who the girls stumble upon, he is kind, and affectionate, and he shows Priscilla just what she might be missing in life.
The chemistry between Joan and Pauline Collins is great, they bounce off each other and each and every interaction feel natural, but what else would you expect from two women who have been acting for over 100 years between them?
There's a lot of talk about how older actors, and especially older actresses, don't get a lot of work anymore. Often because few good parts are written for them. Films like RED, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and the soon to be released Going in Style, should show studio execs that older actors still have something special to offer. No, scrap that, not 'still have', they have something that younger actors don't have, decades of experience. Why would we waste it? It makes no sense.
Back to our film.
Our two friends travel to France to attend the funeral of the director who cast Helen in her first big film role. Along their journey, they discover a few things both about each other, and about themselves. There is a very serious undertone that runs through this film, it has a sadness, that comes with loss, a loss we all feel at some point in our lives. Yet, it still manages to laugh, at itself, at the situation it finds itself in, at life. I've always felt that this is the best way to deal with pain and adversity, so I appreciate the message that this film puts across.
In the loosest sense, this is a road movie, and a charming one at that, with in fact very little time actually spent on the road, but it's hard to describe it as much else. It's a story of self-discovery, and although it may not be perfect, it's well worth a watch.
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