It was a very cute concept: get four legendary actresses who have been honored as Dames and film them having tea and chatting like old friends. And since three of the four actresses were in the 1999 film Tea with Mussolini, the title made sense. However, at first glance, I felt Tea with the Dames was a bit distracted and haphazard. We're not getting to know these ladies at all! I thought. However, the more the documentary continued, the more I realized that by letting them just talk with very few prompts, we were getting to know them.
We got to see how Maggie Smith uses charm and coy femininity to get what she wants. When veiled in humor, she could say what she really wanted. "Did they tell you how old we all are?" she asked the director, because she wanted to be done for the day. In another scene, she didn't want to talk about the topic anymore, and she charmingly killed two birds with one stone by criticizing the constant presence of the nearby photographer.
Judi Dench also had a carefully constructed persona: dainty, sweet, and innocent. "How rude!" she exclaimed when the other ladies joked that she'd stolen all the good film parts for older women. With feminine trust, she agreed to try a tongue twister thought up by the director, on the condition that he wouldn't ask anyone else to do it (which he did). But, in a moment she requested director Roger Michell cut from the final print (which he didn't), she shared a story in which she let loose her temper.
Eileen Atkins was anxious to fit in and feel like "one of the girls", but no one paid attention to her. While Maggie and Judi repeatedly took the reins of the conversation, Michell cut to closeups of the other ladies to try and be fair. Eileen was always actively listening and leaning forward in her chair with a smile, but she was still left out. When she would throw out an intro to a story, she received no reaction, but knowing that the camera was still on her, she had to just grin and bear it.
Joan Plowright, unfortunately without her sight and with a hearing aid that went on the fritz during one scene, seemed very resigned that the only reason anyone was interested in what she had to say was because she was married to Laurence Olivier. All her stories included him because she knew it was expected. Her identity will forever remain a mystery, since all it's ever been was Mrs. Laurence Olivier.
There was an incredibly awkward moment when Michell asked the ladies to talk about what it was like to work with their husbands. Silence fell upon them, until finally Maggie Smith broke it with a rehearsed joke: "Which one?" Everyone laughed, and the distraction bought them time before they felt forced to answer. Joan Plowright was next, admitting that her husband was obviously the most difficult. A knowing nod followed, then more silence. Judi Dench obviously didn't want to talk about her late husband, as she stalled and stalled and looked away from the camera. Eileen Atkins would have shared more, but when nobody paid attention to her after her first sentence, she didn't continue. As I always say, even the smallest incident is representative of the whole. This one brief scene illustrated the heart of everyone's character.
I'll never, ever understand director Michell's active choice to film the entire movie with a handheld camera. This is a documentary featuring women in their 80s and 90s, so it's safe to assume the target audience would be either in that age range or slightly younger. The most common complaint of old people is dizziness - so why would you actively shake and move the camera for ninety minutes? My mom is in her sixties and suffers from vertigo, and she was terribly disappointed that she had to "watch" this entire film with her eyes closed. It was making her sick so she turned her chair around and just listened. Had he used a simple tripod, countless more people could have enjoyed this documentary.
I'll also never understand why, at the end of the film, Michell featured a montage of all four women receiving awards and waving on the red carpet, set to the music of "Honkytonk Women." These are four women honored by Queen Elizabeth - and he picked a Rolling Stones funky tune to end their tea session?
DLM Warning: If you suffer from vertigo or dizzy spells, like my mom does, this movie will not be your friend. The entire movie is filmed with a handheld camera, and that will make you sick. In other words, "Don't Look, Mom!"
We got to see how Maggie Smith uses charm and coy femininity to get what she wants. When veiled in humor, she could say what she really wanted. "Did they tell you how old we all are?" she asked the director, because she wanted to be done for the day. In another scene, she didn't want to talk about the topic anymore, and she charmingly killed two birds with one stone by criticizing the constant presence of the nearby photographer.
Judi Dench also had a carefully constructed persona: dainty, sweet, and innocent. "How rude!" she exclaimed when the other ladies joked that she'd stolen all the good film parts for older women. With feminine trust, she agreed to try a tongue twister thought up by the director, on the condition that he wouldn't ask anyone else to do it (which he did). But, in a moment she requested director Roger Michell cut from the final print (which he didn't), she shared a story in which she let loose her temper.
Eileen Atkins was anxious to fit in and feel like "one of the girls", but no one paid attention to her. While Maggie and Judi repeatedly took the reins of the conversation, Michell cut to closeups of the other ladies to try and be fair. Eileen was always actively listening and leaning forward in her chair with a smile, but she was still left out. When she would throw out an intro to a story, she received no reaction, but knowing that the camera was still on her, she had to just grin and bear it.
Joan Plowright, unfortunately without her sight and with a hearing aid that went on the fritz during one scene, seemed very resigned that the only reason anyone was interested in what she had to say was because she was married to Laurence Olivier. All her stories included him because she knew it was expected. Her identity will forever remain a mystery, since all it's ever been was Mrs. Laurence Olivier.
There was an incredibly awkward moment when Michell asked the ladies to talk about what it was like to work with their husbands. Silence fell upon them, until finally Maggie Smith broke it with a rehearsed joke: "Which one?" Everyone laughed, and the distraction bought them time before they felt forced to answer. Joan Plowright was next, admitting that her husband was obviously the most difficult. A knowing nod followed, then more silence. Judi Dench obviously didn't want to talk about her late husband, as she stalled and stalled and looked away from the camera. Eileen Atkins would have shared more, but when nobody paid attention to her after her first sentence, she didn't continue. As I always say, even the smallest incident is representative of the whole. This one brief scene illustrated the heart of everyone's character.
I'll never, ever understand director Michell's active choice to film the entire movie with a handheld camera. This is a documentary featuring women in their 80s and 90s, so it's safe to assume the target audience would be either in that age range or slightly younger. The most common complaint of old people is dizziness - so why would you actively shake and move the camera for ninety minutes? My mom is in her sixties and suffers from vertigo, and she was terribly disappointed that she had to "watch" this entire film with her eyes closed. It was making her sick so she turned her chair around and just listened. Had he used a simple tripod, countless more people could have enjoyed this documentary.
I'll also never understand why, at the end of the film, Michell featured a montage of all four women receiving awards and waving on the red carpet, set to the music of "Honkytonk Women." These are four women honored by Queen Elizabeth - and he picked a Rolling Stones funky tune to end their tea session?
DLM Warning: If you suffer from vertigo or dizzy spells, like my mom does, this movie will not be your friend. The entire movie is filmed with a handheld camera, and that will make you sick. In other words, "Don't Look, Mom!"