A lonely pair of people, one in her 70's, one in his 20's, find each other in London and become a makeshift family far better than their "real" families.It's a bit cloying and sometimes unrealistic--for instance, how someone who looks like Rupert Friend could possibly be without a girlfriend for so long as a day beggars belief, and we're supposed to believe that he has a hard time finding one. And London is awfully safe and clean, here. The hotel is, I think, supposed to be a bit seedy (at least dialog suggests so) but what is on film is glistening. That the writer sometimes has VO narration is odd--it comes so infrequently, it feels like a mistake when it arrives. And it all moves verrry. slowwww. ly.But if you like these sorts of meandering feel-good stories, without any edge whatsoever, it is well enough done. The acting is good. There aren't many good roles for older women, and this has several. Rupert Friend is gorgeous and charming, and the scene where he sings "We May Never Meet Again" to her is a moving emotional climax and worth waiting through the slower points before (though if you're a of a certain mindset about music, you may not like the jazz spin he puts on it.) Her date with the older fellow is quite funny, too, and puts some interest into a sluggish part of the film.

My wife and I enjoyed this movie, very warmth and very sensitive to the needs of the elderly. Modern society has lost the sense of the extended family and with it we have lost the wisdom and love that our elderly citizens can provide to society. The acting was very good and the film score a pleasure to listen to. The director needs to be commended for not allowing this film to become a caricature of the elderly, but to bring realism to the problems of growing old and alone.I would suggest that you see this movie with your children and discuss their feelings afterward. It should prove interesting to hear their comments.We recommend this movie for the whole family.

"Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont" is one of the best movies I have ever seen. This movie made me think about life, about things that should really matter. It truly touched my heart and reminded me of time passing by and also of the surprises fate can bring. The acting was great. You could actually be a part of the whole story and you simply do not feel like just watching it. You live it from the beginning to the very end. I highly recommend this movie as it nicely enriches one's inside and leaves the viewer with some kind of a hope. True love, and friendship exist and there is never too late to experience them. It's good to stop for a while and gather memories just to be sure that they are still there as in the end the pictures we carry in our souls make us happier and make us feel much safer and complete.

MRS. PALFREY AT THE CLAREMONT is an adaptation by Ruth Sacks of the book by British novelist Elizabeth Taylor (1912 - 1975) and directed with consummate skill by Dan Ireland. It is a showcase for the extraordinary talents of Dame Joan Plowright who owns the title role and of relative newcomer Rupert Friend, surely an actor to watch rise.Mrs. Palfrey (Plowright) is recently widowed and decides to move to a small hotel in London to spend her last years as a lady of independence. The Claremont is a crumbling old edifice that serves as a retirement home for a small but fascinating group of tenants: the fastidious but cranky Mrs. Arbuthnot (Anna Massey), a would-be suitor for Mrs. Palfrey's hand Mr. Osborne (Robert Lang), Mrs. Post (Marcia Warren), the nosy matchmaker Mrs. Burton (Georgina Hale), and a strange old couple, the De Salises (Millicent Martin and Michael Culkin). Once settled into her barely navigable room, Mrs. Palfrey meets her fellow 'inmates' at dinner, and announces that she has a grandson who will be calling on her at times. Yet despite multiple attempts her grandson Desmond (Lorcan O'Toole) doesn't respond and Mrs. Palfrey realizes she has entered a world of loneliness.Out on an errand she falls and is befriended by a handsome young busker/writer Ludovic Meyer (Rupert Friend) who nurses her leg wound, makes her tea, and escorts her home. Ludo is a loner and lonely and when Mrs. Palfrey offers him dinner at the hotel he gladly accepts. But at the hotel the guests presume that Mrs. Palfrey's guest will be her grandson Desmond: Mrs. Palfrey hastily informs Ludo that she has erred and Ludo agrees to pose as her grandson. The guests at the hotel are charmed by Ludo, and Mrs. Palfrey and Ludo grow increasingly bonded - they share many likes and tastes and meld into a beautiful relationship that would be the envy of any grandmother and grandson. Mrs. Palfrey's loneliness is dissipated by Ludo and the effect is vice versa. How the two progress to the end of the film, finding new lives from old ones, forms the immensely touching finale to the film. Though this film falls into the 'ensemble acting' category, so finely entwined are the performances of every actor in the cast, the film clearly belongs to Dame Joan Plowright whose performance once again proves that she is one of the durable treasures of cinema and stage. This is a film that will touch the hearts of even the most hardened viewers and this viewer cannot recommend it more highly. Grady Harp, December 06