Tea With the Dames

I was amazed to see our local Katoomba cinema showing a movie that wasn't an Action or rom com box office cash ringer so of course we trotted off to Tea With the Dames, how could we resist? Anyone who loves great acting on stage or film and intelligent conversation should enjoy this documentary and rare look at actors of this caliber. The sort of afternoon tea I'd include on my wish list of when I get to heaven if there is such a place, would include two more Dames Julie Andrews and Dame Elizabeth Taylor. Four great ladies of the stage and obviously great friends reminiscing about life, love and performances that span over 6 decades and thankfully have been preserved forever as shown in the many fascinating clips and interspersed with the humorous sometimes revealing conversation we are invited to be part of. Young performers should see it as it shows fame in film or theatre has to be earned , it's not all awards and acclaim and most importantly it's much more than just being pretty or handsome and the flavour of the month which can turn bitter unless the talent is real and the dedication to adapt and change with the times , whatever medium stage ,film or television is permanent.

Filmmaker Roger Michell gathered four old friends of the British stage and world film for a chat about their lives, careers, and lessons learned. He prompts them a bit from off camera, and they tease and support one another. The tone is pleasant, relaxed, occasionally serious, but unhurried and not often terribly revelatory, it must be admitted.

What might surprise most viewers are the forgivable glimpses of vulnerability: not just Plowright's physical infirmities, but the actresses' general admissions of fright on the boards and on camera, and memories of regrets and bad judgments.

Other reviews have complained about the archival footage -- but I found most of it delightful, especially since we Americans have rarely seen these jewels on stage, particularly early in their careers. Most of us probably can picture Dench or Smith only as regal elders in "Downton Abbey," or the James Bond and Harry Potter franchises. These women were never glamorous beauties in her youth, but they were all undeniably magnetic.

The clips are all mostly very short, anyway, save for some home-movie footage of an early outdoor production that the filmmakers probably linger over to savor Dench's surprise and pleasure at seeing ancient footage of herself as a very young thespian.

The complaints about time devoted to Olivier are unwarranted, as well, since all these women worked with him on stage and under his direction. He was, after all, artistic director of the National Theatre when these actresses were in their board-treading primes ... and he was married to Plowright for nearly three decades. We do see footage and discussion of several other husbands, but the average American would not know them.

My complaints center not so much on anything that's in the film, but all that's not. So much more could have been addressed, and I would have loved to see more clips of their early stage and film work. But one must respect the privacy of venerable ladies, and to have pressed several of them any further would likely have taxed their stores of energy as well as patience.

The film climaxes with the subjects' answers to the question of what advice they would have given their younger selves, which is hilarious and touching. Don't miss the final tongue-twister the filmmakers give the quartet, which Dench manages, Plowright manages, Atkins NAILS, and Smith utterly and hilariously blows, probably because she decided it's not worth the trouble.

Four grand Dames of England, Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Joan Plowright, and Eileen Atkins get together and reminisce at Plowright's country home. I would say the wonderful archival film snippets of some of their performances on stage and screen would be enough for the price of admission here. But we get a lot more than that as these superb actresses talk about their surprising self-doubts, anxieties before they perform, aging, marriages, reviewers, and swap inside stories of their interactions with fellow performers and directors.

I felt this documentary got off to a rather disjointed start but went more smoothly as it progressed. Some of the humor made me laugh out loud such as when Dench had to call the paramedics for a bee sting on her backside. Her description was hilarious of the very young EMT tech who asked her if she had a carer (in America would be a home aide) which made her furious and she told him to "f-off".

Overall, this film had its awkward moments and the technique of the talented director Roger Michell asking the four women from the wings to comment on a new topic didn't work very well, in my opinion. But just to sit in and eavesdrop on this get-together of four master artists was a real pleasure.

The film was exquisite. So rich in content, though there was no script. The dames were not disappointing and spoke candidly of their past experiences. At times, it touched on a bit of sadness due to the way things have led on, but in the end, it's about these marvellous women sharing their life with us.

So funny, so witty, so much excellence from this ladies. Absolutely on point, smart, funny. And makes you think about life - even for us mere mortals. Just wondering why so much talk about L. Olivier had to be included...a wee bit of a patriarcal angle maybe, that sounded easy and boring considering the women power channeling of the film.