My Old Lady

Prolific playwright Israel Horovitz makes his movie directorial debut at the age of 75 with "My Old Lady," an enjoyable enough if not entirely convincing adaptation of his 2002 play. Having seen it on stage a decade ago, I remember it being a bit more boisterous and emotionally complex than this tasteful indie in the style of Merchant/Ivory. But with such a distinguished cast - Maggie Smith, Kevin Kline and Kristen Scott Thomas - could it be all bad?

Horovitz's story centers on a down-and-out, middle-aged New Yorker Mathias Gold (Kevin Kline), a thrice-divorced playwright with corresponding failed plays for each marriage. In his mid-50s, he's at his wit's end, but thinks his luck has changed when his late father leaves him an oversized Parisian garden apartment (in the Marais district, no less). Hoping to get a quick sale of the property, he heads to Paris to close the deal. The catch is that his father bought the apartment at a reduced price from its current resident, the elderly Mathilde (Maggie Smith), under the stipulation of a French law that allows her to stay there until she dies. He also inherits a hefty (by his standards) stipend he must pay Mathilde each month. His father, he says, has the last laugh.

Mathilde also has a daughter Chlo� (Kristin Scott Thomas), a single-woman in her 50s who sees Mathias as the man whose mission is to put her on the street. Naturally enough, the two do not warm to each other, at least immediately. But this being a Gallic romance with mostly English accents, eventually Mathias and Chlo� warm to each other, though there may be a deep secret that should keep them apart.

Horovitz maintains a clever air of mystery about just what was the nature of Mathilde's relationship with Mathias's late father. He also offers a piercing portrait of a middle-aged man in an alcoholic free-fall, largely due to Kline's commanding performance. He rants about his life and present situation with a drunken honesty that's oddly refreshing. He says what's on his mind, even if he offends.

For her part Chlo� doesn't mince words, which leads to much friction between them; when they come together in the film's third act, it feels more like wishful thinking on Horovitz's part than developed from what comes before. It's not so much that the film falls apart when it turns sentimental, but when the bite is gone, it doesn't live up to its promise. Thomas moves from hating Mathias to loving him in a seeming blink of an eye, as if realizing that their broken halves could come together into a solid whole. Or maybe she just likes broken men. Who knows? It just isn't terribly convincing.

What makes "My Old Lady" watchable are the performances. Maggie Smith plays the 92-year old Mathilde with a shrewd world-weariness, and watching her machinations is a joy to watch. Kline makes a most convincing Baby Boomer drowning his self-pity in drink and Scott-Thomas is best expressing her anger and fear of an uncertain future. When that it is answered with a kiss, her hardness melts into mush that would only be believable if her meds had kicked in. But perhaps she just succumbs to the spell of Paris in the Spring? Being able to stay in a spacious apartment with a garden in one of the most enviable neighborhoods in the city is reason enough for her mood to elevate.