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04/01/06
Ladies in Lavender (2005)
61
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:88
Fresh:54
Rotten:34
Average Rating:6/10
Consensus: A charming, if slight, period drama that quietly showcases fine performances by its two stars.
Theatrical Release:12-11-2004
Synopsis: Based on a short story by William J. Locke, two spinster sisters, Ursula and Janet (Judi Dench and Maggie Smith), live in an old house by the sea in 1930s Cornwall, England. Their pleasant but... [More]
Starring: Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Daniel Bruhl, Miriam Margolyes
Director: Charles Dance
Reviews for Ladies in Lavender
Top CriticClick to read the article
02/09/06
Top CriticPhenomenally acted, exquisitely scored, and ultimately moving.
11/16/04
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11/13/04
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06/19/04
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10/18/08
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08/07/08
Smith is rather wasted...Perhaps if the actresses had exchanged roles, this pallid palette would have had more emotional color.
03/01/07
One wonders how much of their performances came from Dance's direction and how much came from the actresses themselves, but what counts is what is there on the screen, which is more than satisfactory.
05/02/06
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12/06/05
Top CriticClick to read the article
09/26/05
Top CriticFilled with wonderful music and magnificent, subtle acting. The story, however, goes nowhere at a glacial pace.
09/19/05
Maggie Smith and Judi Dench are a great duo, but the film isn’t so great.
08/12/05
Remaining locked in Ursula and Janet’s fantasies, Ladies in Lavender evades complexity with monomania.
08/09/05
Dance is so tentative and tasteful in his direction that he never draws out the underlying emotions beneath the polite exteriors.
07/28/05
There's something irresistibly admirable about Dance's decision to make a film based on a short story by a long-out-of-favor writer like William J. Locke.
07/20/05
...such a civilized and handsome film that we might be willing to forgive its lack of drama
07/15/05
It's a British period piece, full of the sylvan Cornish coast and countryside, vintage motorcars, steam threshers and sensibilities. Pity they left out a compelling plot.
07/08/05
The film's efforts to channel the charming small-town magic of, say, Local Hero or certain Ealing Studio comedies of the 1940s and '50s feel false and forced.
07/07/05
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07/05/05
Top CriticLatest News for Ladies in Lavender
January 28, 2009:
Charles Dance Books The Inn at the Edge of the World 
Alice Thomas-Ellis' novel "The Inn at the Edge of the World" will be getting the feature film treatment, courtesy of actor/writer/director Charles Dance. More...
July 18, 2005:
Watch the First 6 Mins of "The Edukators"
The first six minutes of "The Edukators" is up on Rotten Tomatoes. An import from Germany, the film tells a story of love and anarchy. More...
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