Summary: Tomorrow is made for some, and tomorrow may never come... Score: 9/10 A movie my mom asked me to see. She didn't recommend it, she asked me to see it, so in a way I feel as though she's here watching it with me, perhaps invited to learn something about the way my mom feels about her own life, and to me that's a very special invitation.Joan Plowright is outrageously genius as Mrs. Palfrey, the traditional and sensitive, thoughtful widow who is coming into a new chapter of her life. One many call her Golden Years.Anna Massey has the funniest lines and is adorable. "I watch Sex and the City. It makes me feel better knowing I won't be around very much longer." "I'm just exercising my rights. It keeps my heart going. A little thing I learned from Mrs. Thatcher." One afternoon, coming home from posting a letter to a grandson who never calls, she trips in front of a young man's apartment who comes to her aid. There is something about their meeting where she's says indignantly I'm fine! And he says kindly, no you're not and brings her inside for a moment. There is something very moving about this meeting, as the viewer realizes they could be in either position any time in our lives. Just the right amount of time is spent to let that settle on the surface of consciousness if one is so obliged, but not long enough to force it if you aren't.She invites him, Ludovic Meyer, played by Rupert Friend who bares a striking resemblance to Orlando Bloom, but what an actor! to visit her one Saturday evening for dinner at the Claremont. but when all the other ladies think she means her grandson, she doesn't quite know how to tell them her grandson still has not called, and thus begins a ruse, but a sweet and kindly ruse.Okay I lied, Anna Massey doesn't have a monopoly on the funny lines. Everyone is quite brilliant.The Claremont is a marvelous and quaint hotel in London, but what truly stands out are the personalities. And perhaps in a Harold and Maude sort of way, the two will help each other in astonishing and unexpected ways. In fact the aforementioned film is mentioned at one point.For the "grandson", he begins writing a novel entitled "We Aren't Allowed To Die Here" concerning a rule Mrs. Palfrey told to him that evening at dinner.It reminds me of a woman I met in San Diego. She was in her 90s, and the life she lived, the memories of her life, truly a treat to listen to. That kind of walk through history is never so rich and moving and meaningful as when it is from the person themselves. I wish I remembered her name, she was a remarkable woman.Is it possible when Mrs. Palfrey calls "Major" this is an homage to the famous character from Fawlty Towers played by the very much loved and respected Ballard Berkeley who passed in 1988? We watch as Mrs. Palfrey relives the happiest moments of her life, somewhat vicariously through her new friend Ludovic, as he finds the love of his life through finding the catalyst which brought Mr.s Palfrey and her dead husband Arthur together so long ago, in the film A Brief Encounter by Noel Coward. After watching this film I highly recommend finding a copy of the romantic and beautiful film mentioned by Noel Coward, Brief Encounter (1945), as I am going to watch and review that film next! In the end, Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont is not an ending, but a moment in time. A touching and poignant snapshot of a poem laying on a sidewalk. A ripple on the water and then no more. But something lives on, something beautiful, and we should find the time to share that with our own loved ones, friends, and strangers. For life is so short, and we truly are together here in this crazy and lonely mixed up world.The song "For All We Know", I must confess I already knew how to play on the guitar :) For all we know we may never meet again Before you go make this moment sweet again We wont say good night until the last minute Ill hold out my hand and my heart will be in it For all we know this may only be a dream We come and go like a ripple on a stream So love me tonight; tomorrow was made for some Tomorrow may never come for all we know So love me tonight; tomorrow was made for some Tomorrow may never come for all we know

Joan Plowright gives a restrained, endearing performance in this 2005 film.Having lost her husband, she moves to a hotel in London where she comes upon an assortment of characters at the hotel. Terrence Rattigan, who wrote "Brief Encounter" would have had a ball with this one as we again see lonely hotel guests sitting at separate tables attempting to make the best of what life now has to offer to them.When her grandson fails to call and come visit her, Plowright strikes up an accidental friendship with a young man who has helped her when she has fallen. The two have a lot of interests in common and can recite passages from famous lines of various items. Mrs. Palfrey (Plowright) reveals that her favorite movie is "Brief Encounter." When the young man, who is now being passed off as her grandson, tries to obtain the film, he meets the girl of his dreams.Though the ending is sad, this film explores the personal relationships existing among people who have either been cast aside by relatives or no longer have the latter.

Joan Plowright is good in this, and I imagine the producers only secured funding on the strength of her signing up to it. I had been looking forward to seeing this for ages - it sounded just my kind of film - and was very pleased to get the DVD this week.But the film is so disappointing. A key part of the problem is presumably that the novel this is based on is both third-rate (the screenplay trots out one cliché after another: the London you see is the London Americans think of, red buses everywhere etc); and set in the fifties. The film needlessly updates the setting to the present day but in so doing makes an absolute nonsense of what is already a thin story. The 'residents' of the hotel are poorly drawn stereotypes, and even the usually wonderful Anna Massey seems to be embarrassed to be in this mess. (The scene where she collapses is pitifully bad). Rupert Friend is a good male lead, and he clearly will go far, but the role he is asked to play is quite unbelievable and especially the bizarre scene where he & Mrs Palfrey visit his mother. Other cast members are either poorly used (Timothy Bateson - who was in the original cast of Waiting for Godot for goodness' sake - plays a muttering half-wit of a porter), or just rubbish. I laughed at the fact that the casting director of the film cast himself as the hotel manager, I don't think anyone else would somehow! The best part of the film other than Plowright is the cinematography which keeps trying to rise above the handicaps of the script & direction.In essence this is a classic example of a film where you can see what kind of film the director imagined he was making but patently hasn't succeeded, and I'm hardly surprised that it hasn't gained distribution in the UK (or even a UK DVD release for that matter) as it is a very lacklustre and disappointing product.

You know when a director with the last name of Ireland does a film about a Scottish lady coming to London that there's got to be some major appeal.Independent film lovers will cheer for MRS. PALFREY AT THE CLAREMONT, a story with a strong script, excellent acting, and some sumptuous English scenery.Joan Plowright (JANE EYRE, 1996) stars as Mrs. Palfrey, an aging widow who's traveled from Scotland to London to start her life anew in her sunset years. She decides to spend her waning years at a retirement hotel called The Claremont, a somewhat drab locale from what was advertised to Mrs. Claremont in a picture magazine. No matter. She makes herself comfortable, running into The Claremont's quirky staff and residents. The bellhop is a portly and sonorous balding man who mumbles more than he speaks. And the residents range from overly-nosy to irritatingly grumpy. But most want to know why Mrs. Palfrey's grandson, Desmond, (whom she calls all the time) doesn't come to see her.One potentially rainy day, Mrs. Palfrey is returning from an outdoor excursion, hurrying home, when she stumbles and falls outside a young man's flat. The 26-year-old man's odd name is Ludovic Meyer (Rupert Friend, PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, 2005). Ludy (as he likes to be called) helps Mrs. Palfrey and in return asks that she help him write a really great novel. He wants to use her years and experience to aid in his telling of the story. Ludy seems like such a nice young man that Mrs. Palfrey agrees. Ludy walks Mrs. Palfrey home and everyone at The Claremont immediately believes this to be the elusive Desmond. Mrs. Palfrey lets this deception continue and even invites Ludy over for dinner at The Claremont posing as her grandson. Everyone is smitten with Mrs. Palfrey's faux-grandson and a relationship between Mrs. Palfrey and Ludy starts blossoming.This isn't a Harry and Maude relationship. This is a relationship not built on a scrap of sexual innuendo. It is a love of friendship and understanding that reaches deep into each of the characters and pulls out of it a fantastic end of life/beginning of life set of circumstances. The beauty of Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont is that the story builds on each subsequent scene, moving us deeper and deeper into their lives. We see Mrs. Palfrey's love of her dead husband, Arthur, and the beginnings of Ludy's relationship with a beautiful young lady thanks to a movie recommendation by Mrs. Palfrey.Although the beginning of the film takes a while to catch on (i.e., it may seem painstakingly slow to some), the ending is well worth your time. It is a story that's been told before, but not with such impact, and this is undoubtedly thanks to the strong script by Ruth Sacks based on Elizabeth Taylor's bestselling novel (no, not that Elizabeth Taylor).Also, the filming at the New Forest Palace grounds near the Abbey at Beaulieu was some wonderful visual candy for fans of this film. It was unbelievably beautiful.One big warning: make sure you keep a box of Kleenex next to you as the story comes to a close. You'll need 'em.