The Lady in the Van Magazine"'s Elise Nakhnikian said the film is all about the "fastidious, somewhat timid, and reclusive playwright Alan Bennett", and stated the film's "annoying glibness is neatly summarized" by the line: "In life, going downhill is an uphill job". The Lady in the Van The Lady in the Van is a 2015 British comedy-drama film directed by Nicholas Hytner, and starring Maggie Smith and Alex Jennings, based on the novel of the same name created by Alan Bennett. It was written by Alan Bennett, and it tells the (mostly) true story of his interactions with Mary Shepherd, an elderly woman who
Lady in the Water another 62.1% to $2.7 million. As of 2011, its total was $42.285 million. In addition, the film made only $30.5 million in the foreign box office, pulling its tally to approximately $72.785 million internationally. "Lady in the Water" received negative reviews around the time of its release. On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film received an approval rating of 25% based on 213 reviews, with an average rating of 4.2/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "A far-fetched story with little suspense and unconvincing scenarios, "Lady In The Water" feels contrived, pretentious, and rather silly." On Metacritic, the film has