secondtake Mrs. Henderson Presents (2005)A terrific story and a straight up, almost stodgy telling of that story. The two main actors—Judi Dench and Bob Hoskins—are so stellar, the movie is a joy to watch. But director Stephen Frears seems determined to not make this dramatic, and so we have a well made but uninvolving kind of filmmaking. The result is fun but disappointing—and the more fun it seems, the more disappointing it is as a movie.The concept is totally winning, and taps into the WWII patriotism of London surviving the Blitz as well as an older woman rising out of recent widowhood to really DO something with her remaining life. And she does, buying an old theater and hiring a man to run it. A musical review (vaudeville) act is established. When this has only temporary success, they launch into the real hook of the theater, and of the movie: nude women (no men) would be used as stage props during the performances.Naturally the men love it, especially the soldiers who flock to the place. Censors find a way to accept it, the public finds a way to love it, and our leading pair charge ahead with their restrained English version of the French theater free-for-all of, say, Moulin Rouge. All of this is great in its own way. Our two leads are developed quite well as characters, though always with a feeling of distance. And the remaining cast is thoroughly kept away from any emotional complexity. Even the troubling issue of several women having to take their clothes off is given modest, unprobing attention, even though that might be the second most powerful part of the movie.The first most powerful aspect is of course the relationship between the leads. It's interesting. You might even say it's predictable, except that it isn't quite. But their mutual respect and mutual wariness of each other personally ends up unchanged from start to finish. That they have a kind of platonic love is the point, but it's really not much of a point.I wanted to love this film and I loved the idea of the film for sure. But the detachment from intensity and depth is astonishing. Even the camera almost never gets close, rarely showing a real expression with any intensity, instead giving the big view. Someone made a stylistic decision to do all this, and make it an explanation of the facts rather than an immersion in them. And it doesn't quite work.

sharer-scott Great acting is the first statement you'll make about this film. After that you'll simply want to re-watch it over and over to catch all the little things we all miss the first time through. A great story and pictorial of what life during the bombing of London must have been. It shows the real strength of the British people at their very best and most troubled of times. Each actor selected uses his/her character to the fullest in describing individual feelings of the times. The sets are simple with excellent lighting effects. This would not be considered a big budget film by anyones standards however, the size of the budget in no way hurts the production.

featherstone-758-470869 I had such high expectations when sitting down to watch this film being a self-confessed 'Denchphile' and fan of genuine, honest British film. However, sadly I found myself underwhelmed by a lacklustre display despite the casting of some British acting heavyweights.First of all, the positive. Naturally, being an admirer of the Dame, Judy was the stand-out of this film insofar as without her casting, I feel this film would have barely poked its head above the water. Although not the 'brilliant' performance the reviewers promised on the DVD cover, especially when compared to recent Dench performances in the likes of 'Notes on a Scandal' and 'Ladies in Lavender', she nevertheless delivered a heart-warming show which allowed for smiles and titters. Be prepared for witty lines and examples of the classic British humour we expect in down-to-earth British cinema but don't expect any real 'laugh out loud' moments. What is charming is the music, costume, and feel of the film alluding to its musical theme. In this respect, the film succeeds in entertaining on stage, however it is the 'back-stage' story which really lets it down.Despite a positive start, setting the scene after Mr. Henderson's death and humorously showing how Mrs. Henderson acquired the Windmill theatre and Van Damm, the story soon gets all messed up, the pace and humour disappear and we're left waiting for it to end. Even the onset of the war and uncertainty about the future of the theatre fail to stir any real emotion. When main characters face atrocities, I fail to be moved towards sympathy because each of the characters is too shallow to really feel anything for, even Mrs. Henderson herself (the deepest of the lot). When the film reaches its climax (with Mrs. Henderson revealing her motives for pursuing her dream), the reason fails to convince, even though it should. Its difficult to pin-point what the missing ingredients are although the lack of character development and depth is the most obvious one. Aside from that the subplots fail to add any real value to the film and fail to prop up the weak narrative. Oh and Will Young gets a bit irritating by the end, mainly because we actually never really know who he is despite his high billing.All in all, this film gets 6/10 from me mainly for Dench's performance, its musical and aesthetic quality portrayed through the costume, song and dance. In other words the stage scenes, brief moments of Dench humour and charm. However, it fails to hit the spot because it doesn't make us care about the theatre, her motives, the characters or anything really. In the end we are just a bored audience sitting through a smiley but flawed musical stripper show which even Judy Dench could not save.

TheLittleSongbird I was interested in seeing Mrs Henderson Presents as a fan of Judi Dench. After I saw the film myself, I was impressed overall. Mrs Henderson Presents is though uneven, as after a lovely first half the latter drags a bit, while the script in an attempt to create more drama particularly in the second half occasionally gets in a panic and while very well done musically and visually the musical numbers fall into the trap of having a tendency to grind the film to a halt. However, Stephen Frears does do a credible job directing, Mrs Henderson Presents does have the odd downbeat moment but it is jollier in tone to Dirty Pretty Things which had a certain grittiness to it. The story while uneven in pace is compelling and rarely ceases really to be that, the period detail from the cinematography and scenery to the costumes and make-up is lavish and the music is wonderful. The acting is good as well. Judi Dench from her one-liners to her delivery of them is very winning as Laura, and Bob Hoskins is also surprisingly effective. I was also surprised in a good way by Will Young who wasn't bad at all in his film debut. So in conclusion, a good film, uneven but worth seeing for the production values and cast. 7/10 Bethany Cox