Ladies in Lavender (2004)

I had heard of Ladies in Lavender before, back when it first came out, I was even kind of interested in seeing it, but if it hadn't have been in a recent mystery DVD pack I likely would never have watched it. Which would have been a shame because this is a wonderful little movie, a small scale charmer, somewhat reminiscent of Downton Abbey. The last comparison has to do with one of the cast members, but also from the tone, pacing, and vaguely the setting. Adapted from a story by William John Locke and directed by Charles Dance (Tywin Lannister on Games of Thrones) of all people, Ladies in Lavender is the tale of two 60 something Cornoish women (Judi Dench and Maggie Smith, both excellent) who find a young man washed up on the beach near their home sometime in the late 1930's. The young man (Daniel Brühl) is kind of a mystery at first, it takes them a while to even figure out what language he's speaking, but he really turns out to be something of a surprise, in a good way. The film chronicles the recovery of the young man, whose name turns out to be Andrea, and what happens to him once he's on his feet again and the effect he has on this small community, members of which include David Warner, Natascha McElhone, and Toby Jones. Charming and subtle Ladies in Lavender was a real nice surprise of a movie, I was grinning throughout. ***1/2