The Lady in the Van 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 lived in a dilapidated van on his driveway in London for 15 years. He had previously published the story as a 1989 essay, 1990 book, 1999 stage play, and 2009 radio play on BBC Radio 4. Smith had
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