Maggie Smith

[6] Director John Madden (Shakespeare in Love) takes us once more to the Marigold well, reuniting all the original cast members and throwing Richard Gere into the mix. Gere plays a mysterious American who may or may not be a financial inspector whose opinion could make or break the Marigold’s franchising to a second location. Judi Dench’s character is offered a new career, all while …

[7] John Madden, the director of Shakespeare in Love, serves up an adaptation of Debora Moggach’s novel about an eclectic group of aging Brits who manage to turn their lives around for the better at a rundown hotel in India. I couldn’t argue with anyone claiming this movie is a pandering, formulaic feel-good dramedy — it is. But when you have the likes of Judi …

[8] In pre-World War II Florence, a group of elitist British dames and a garish American art collector take in a small boy and raise him. When Britain and America enter the war several years later, the young man returns the favor by looking after the women when they’re interned by the Italian police — and helping to smuggle one of them out of the …

[8] Maggie Smith took home the Best Actress Oscar for her portrayal of Jean Brodie, a charismatic school teacher who dedicates herself to a class of impressionable young women. The film may sound like an all-girl precursor to Dead Poets Society, but it’s a far more nuanced and provocative take on the ‘inspirational teacher’ story. Brodie may begin as the hero of the story, but …

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