My biggest praise for this film is for the performances of Maggie Smith and Alan Jennings, who brought to life their characters extremely well. Smith shines as the eccentric and cantankerous Miss Shepherd who has a troubled past, whilst Jennings is also brilliant as Alan Bennett with his sharp wit and intellect providing for some funny moments. The relationship that builds between them is developed very effectively.However, I do have many problems with the narrative, mainly that it doesn't amount to much with so little actually happening in the story. I found it very hard to be engaged when most of it singly revolved around the interactions between Smith and Jennings with very little else going on. Also, learning about Miss Shepherd's past could have been quite intriguing but it just leads to some rather underwhelming reveals at the end with little deeper exploration into how she became the person she is.In the end I found this to be quite average, not terrible by any means, but not something I will ever have the inclination to watch again.

What a beautiful film. I can't understand how some reviewers have given it such low marks. You can almost smell Maggie Smith through the telly and the two Alan's are just perfect. As the story unfolds and more mysteries abound but are not revealed, the intrigue based around these two characters grows. "Hold my Hand... it's clean" sprung tears and made this film simply perfect.

"Maggie Smith is Glorious" boasts the cover of the DVD, and I wouldn't in any way contradict that, but she is the film's saving grace and the fact that the DVD contains an entire segment on "visual effects" reveals just how far from what was once a simple but endearing essay on English eccentricity this film has wandered. As with much of Bennett's work, it was in this simplicity that the attraction of the story lay, and moments of dialog in the script do hark back to that clarity. But with two Alan Bennetts, both with - to my ear - draining impersonations of Bennett's accent, an ensemble cast - many of whom seem to have been chosen for reasons other than their suitability for the roles and a frankly bizarre, Monty Python like final segment that fits like a spoonful of saccharine on top of a tablespoonful of sugar - what a disappointment!

The writer doesn't want to bother with the crazy woman in the van, but his other half can not turn away a needy person. The entire neighborhood grows and evolves around the woman in the van. Back in the day, when this originally almost truly happened, people were different. People cared for people. Miss Shepherd was portrayed perfectly by Maggie Smith. I love how she blurts out lines and then follows up with a sensible statement. You can see the fear she has about her past, and the need to know in her landlords expressions. The curiosity wants you to shot out: Tell me what happened to her. Why would she live in a van for so many years?I really liked this movie.