The Lady in the Van

"A mostly true story"

2015 1h 44m EN

😐

6.4

MID

🍅

89%

FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

6.7

IMDB

★6.4TMDB · 823🍅89%Rotten Tomatoes●70Metacritic★6.7IMDB · 33,457

ComedyDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

The true story of the relationship between Alan Bennett and the singular Miss Shepherd, a woman of uncertain origins who ‘temporarily’ parked her van in Bennett’s London driveway and proceeded to live there for 15 years.

“A mostly true story”

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Cast

Maggie Smith
Miss Shepherd
Alex Jennings
Alan Bennett
Frances de la Tour
Ursula Vaughan Williams
Gwen Taylor
Mam
Dominic Cooper
Theatre Actor
James Corden
Street Trader
Roger Allam
Rufus
Samuel Anderson
Jehovah's Witness

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Nicholas Hytner
Writers: Alan Bennett
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 6.9× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 11 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Nicholas Hytner, shot by Andrew Dunn. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by George Fenton. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Tariq Anwar shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Maggie Smith and Alex Jennings and Frances de la Tour carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "A mostly true story".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt3722070 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Nicholas Hytner directs. Andrew Dunn behind the camera. George Fenton scores. Tariq Anwar cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Made its money back 6.9× over at the box office.
2Released 11 years ago.
3Directed by Nicholas Hytner, shot by Andrew Dunn. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by George Fenton. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Tariq Anwar shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Maggie Smith and Alex Jennings and Frances de la Tour carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "A mostly true story".
8IMDB entry: tt3722070 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 9 themes, including "van", "london, england", "based on novel or book", "england".

The technical file

Cinematography: Andrew Dunn
Original score: George Fenton
Editing: Tariq Anwar
Production design: John Beard
Costume design: Natalie Ward
Makeup / hair: Naomi Donne
Runtime: 104 min · 1h 44m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $6,000,000
Box office: $41,387,687
Return: 690% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: The Lady in the Van (2015)
Rotten Tomatoes: 89% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 70/100
IMDB rating: 6.7/10 · 33,457 votes
MPAA: PG-13

Awards

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award1 win & 8 nominations total

Also by

Nicholas Hytner

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Selected frames

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Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Reno2016-05-04
★ 8/10
According to her guidance, this is where it should go! Her legend continues. I was talking about Maggie Smith, she's 82 years old and still her performances can compete with younger generation actors. The story was narrated from someone's perspective about the role she played, that's why it's little weakened, otherwise if she was in solo, it would have been an Oscar worthy. Incidentally, that someone was an actual writer, so the film ended up portraying her very well, beside himself. Inspired by the real story of an old lady who lived in a van for the 15 years during the 70s in the London's residential driveways. This film tells the mystery behind the state of her condition and actions. Actually, I expected it to be like 'Little Miss Sunshine', a road film, but after learning it was a biopic I am impressed with the overall movie. An heartfully enjoyable comedy-drama with a small suspense in the plot. In fact, the whole film developed pretty well because of the opening event that hidden from us to reveal at the conclusion. It was a bit of fantasy as well, especially the end was too much of it. On the Mary Shepard character, it reminded me Mrs. Julia Wicket from the Mr. Bean's animated series. Similar kind of attitude like don't care about others, especially when everyone around her showing some kind of respect and care, she was more a sceptical for us. The film was shot in the real locations. That was an advantage for filmmaking, and for us to witness from very close to the original. 8/10
CinemaSerf2024-05-10
★ 7/10
As the writer himself acknowledges at the end, he's augmented this a little but most of it is already the stuff you couldn't make up! He buys a new home in a well-to-do street in London's Camden only to find the area "blighted" by a curmudgeonly and smelly old woman who lives out of her rusting old van. When it comes time for her to move on, she ends up parked outside his new home and prevails upon him to use his facilities. That's just the start of a friendship that develops over fifteen years in which Bennett (Alex Jennings) discovers that this is an interesting and talented lady. It's quite easy to make judgements about her (Dame Maggie Smith) in the beginning, but as we go along we begin to realise that her supposed temporary existence has come to suit her perfectly, even if it does irritate her more respectable neighbours. The story of their relationship is told by the renowned playwright talking to himself much of the time and this series of conversations questions not just her existence but his own too. His narration is witty, perceptive and entertainingly expressive and the whole thing is enigmatically topped off by an actor who seems to be having an whale of a time portraying a woman of true character. It is a little bit long and does rather run out of steam towards the inevitable conclusion, but it does make you stop and think a little about homelessness, ageing and just how satisfying life can (or cannot) be.