Mrs. Henderson Presents | Review

Frears leaves nothing for the imagination.

Overtly commercial in tone, lacking in originality and far from being provocative as in the suggested subject matter, it’s hard to imagine that Mrs. Henderson Presents comes to viewers via the helmer who last gave us the condemning Dirty Pretty Things. Appealing to folks who may be tickled by the pronunciation of words such as “bosom” and “breasts”, this cardboard cutout goes through the motions, never striving to bring out emotions. While Dame Judi Dench is always a hoot to watch perform in such roles, instead of sizzling – Stephen Frear’s dramedy fizzles as it fails to capitalize on why an old windmill had such an important emotional empathy on its British soldiers.

Written by Martin Sherman, the notion that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks doesn’t apply to this tale – a 30’s story that sees a recently widowed dame choosing to spend not only her leisure time but her money in an untraditional fashion. Life lessons and lessons in love are possible even during the pre war era and so is a profitable business venture thanks to song and dance numbers that literally offer bits and pieces into her mindset.

The clashes between Bob Hoskins’ character of a prompt theatre manager and Dench are amusing but eventually the pairing and the film carry along in a monotone voice. The film tends to focus on inoffensive high brow elements which revert to one silly interpretation of a situation after another – where’s the sense of desperation in the midst of imminent despair?

Designed as a piece for an actress of this caliber (and age demographic), despite the tale being based on a true story there are no attempts at bridging the feel good story with a heartfelt one. Very little attempts are made in giving more insight into how these ladies masked the atrocities of war by baring their nude bodies and their souls. Moderately enjoyable, the film never strays away from its British manners – you can’t help but wonder how a Guy Maddin would have treated the same subject matter.

Rating 1.5 stars