Word: hendersons
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...BEST ACTRESS Judi Dench, Mrs. Henderson Presents Felicity Huffman, TransAmerica Keira Knightley, Pride and Prejudice Charlize Theron, North Country Reese Witherspoon, Walk the Line...
Directed by Stephen Frears (“High Fidelity”), the film opens in late l930s London, with a recently widowed and very bored Mrs. Laura Henderson. Advised by her friend that widows are allowed hobbies or better yet, younger lovers, Henderson purchases a run-down theater and hires an experienced stage manager, Mr. Vivien Van Damm (Bob Hoskins of “Who Framed Roger Rabbit...
...make her show stand out, Dench decides to do an English version of the Moulin Rouge. In a hilarious scene, Henderson convinces the stuffy Lord Chamberlain, played with perfect deadpan by Christopher Guest, to allow nudity onstage. “But what about the midlands?” the Chamberlain asks, to which Dench replies “you mean the pussy?” Too prude for the Parisian approach to nudity, the Lord Chamberlain relents to nudity presented strictly as art; the girls onstage can’t move...
...major flaw in the film is the deflated dynamic of the relationship between Van Damm and Henderson, which should provide the backbone of the movie. The sparring between the two over control of the theater never really sparks, for Hoskins, solidly playing the straight man role, is no match for Dench. Delivering her lines with her usual acerbic and perfectly timed delivery, Dench demonstrates why she is the premier actress of the AARP...
...romantic setup of the two also feels false; Hendersons’ crush is conveyed by Dench gazing wistfully away from the camera and turning unreasonably angry when she discovers that Van Damm is married. Why would a woman as independent as Henderson immediately fall for Van Damm...