Mrs Caldicot's Cabbage War

2002 1h 50m EN

🙌

7.5

BANGER

★7.5TMDB · 11

DramaComedy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

After her husband's death, A woman starts looking for independence.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

John Alderton
Hawksmor
Pauline Collins
Thelma Caldicot
Paul Freeman
Jenkins
Peter Capaldi
Derek
Martin Jarvis
JB
Tony Robinson
Nick Reid
Camille Coduri
Jackie
Gwenllian Davies
Audrey

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Ian Sharp
Writers: Malcolm Stone
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 / 6

ERA

Did you know

Released 24 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 6

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Ian Sharp, shot by Sue Gibson. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 6

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 6

CAST

Did you know

John Alderton and Pauline Collins and Paul Freeman carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 6

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0305847 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 6

WILD

Did you know

Only 11 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Ian Sharp directs. Sue Gibson behind the camera. Alan Lisk scores. Produced in United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 24 years ago.
2Directed by Ian Sharp, shot by Sue Gibson. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by Alan Lisk. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4John Alderton and Pauline Collins and Paul Freeman carry the top of the cast.
5IMDB entry: tt0305847 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
6Only 11 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Sue Gibson
Original score: Alan Lisk
Runtime: 110 min · 1h 50m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
IMDB: Mrs Caldicot's Cabbage War (2002)

Also by

Ian Sharp

Community reviews

What people are saying

Peter McGinn2023-01-28
★ 8/10
This was an entertaining and amusing little comedy. It was fairly well-written, except for cliched bad people here and there. The time shifts were also a little awkward at the beginning, but that cleared up after a bit. The cast included a half-dozen familiar British performers that I have seen in previous tv shows. Pauline is a treasure and a pleasure to watch. I was wondering how they would come up with a satisfactory way of wrapping up the film, but they thought of a believable one that hadn’t occurred to me. If it weren’t for the cliched scenes and characters I would be willing to watch it again. As it is I didn’t regret the time spent on it.
CinemaSerf2026-01-16
★ 7/10
When some cricketing force majeure robs “Thelma” (Pauline Collins) of her overbearing husband, she can finally look forward to some years without bothering about his chrysanthemums or aversion to tuna. Unfortunately, her rather venal son “Derek” (Peter Capaldi) and wife “Veronica” (Anna Wilson-Jones) have other plans and before she knows it, “Thelma” has been bundled into a care home where she is expected to take her pills and behave herself. Her observations after a few days, though, lead her to believe that this cannot be what her future holds. Allying with nurse “Gina” (Angela Bruce) she begins to sow some seeds of mischief despite the controlling efforts of boss “Hawksmoor” (John Alderton) and the domineering matron (Isla Blair). She also quickly realises that many of her fellow inmates have plenty of life left in them too, and so an illicit trip bowling ensues and then a veritable revolution that sees them fine dining on egg, chips and wine before her leading a large-scale walkout. Taking refuge in a local hotel, they attract some local media attention with her giving interviews galore and causing no end of embarrassment for her slimy son - who just happens to work for the company that owns the care home and the hotel. The message here is clear and that’s that we ought not to be writing off the elderly by zombifying them for profit and convenience, and although it pings fairly and squarely at corporate greed it also takes a swipe at disinterested offspring who don’t or won’t take the time for their parents either. The ensemble cast is what really makes this: a potpourri of familiar British faces delivering characters with an amiable collection of eccentricities and ailments as well as an version to all things cabbage, and it’s written in a gentle and breezy fashion to keep us smiling rather than laughing. Look out for a lively and lovely contribution from Sheila Reid (and a bit of Ivor Novello) and a suitably hammy one from Tony Robinson showing up the facileness of the television chat show host, too. It’s good fun, this.