The Lady in the Van

"Shouldn't you say sorry?"

"I've no time for sorry. Sorry is for God."

In the 1970s, writer Alan Bennett (Jennings) purchased a home in London.  His first day in the house, he meets Miss Shepherd (Smith), the eccentric homeless woman that lives in a van.  Miss Shepherd is abrasive and mysterious, but seems to tolerate Alan more than the other neighbors.  They interfere in each other lives and when she is forced to move the van, he offers his driveway.

The move was intended as a temporary situation, but turns into years.  Despite living close to each other, he knows little about her life.


In 1989, Alan Bennett wrote The Lady in the Van about his experiences with Miss Shepherd.  In 1999 he adapted the story into a play, and he also wrote the screenplay for this film.

Filmed on location at Bennett's home in Camden Town and Bennett has a cameo at the end of the film.  Bennett previously worked with director Nicholas Hytner on another adaptation of one of his plays, The History Boys, and most of the cast from that film have small roles in this film.  Hytner also worked with Bennett on the adaptation of his play The Madness of King George.  Maggie Smith originated the role of Miss Shepherd in the play in 1999 and again in the 2009 BBC radio production (which featured Bennett as himself).

The film focuses on the character of Bennett, as portrayed by Alex Jennings, and splits him into 2 versions: Alan the writer and Alan the one experiencing everything.  They spend much of the film discussing and debating their situation.  It is entertaining, but takes away from watching Smith embody Shepherd.  She is phenomenal.

The rest of the cast is good as well, but are only peripheral characters, as the film focuses on Bennett and Shepherd.  A decent film that makes me want to check out more of Bennett's works (and Hytner's film adaptations of Bennett's works).

The Lady in the Van (2015) 104 minutes
Director: Nicholas Hytner
Starring: Maggie Smith as Mary Shepherd
Alex Jennings as Alan Bennett
Roger Allam as Rufus
Deborah Findlay as Pauline
Jim Broadbent as Underwood
Cecilia Noble as Miss Briscoe
Gwen Taylor as Mam
Frances de la Tour as Ursual Vaughan Williams