My Old Lady 2014

     Mathias Gold is a penniless and bitter 50-year old New Yorker.  He uses the last of his money to fly to Paris.  He plans to sell the mansion his father left him in his will.  He is expecting a healthy profit since the home is located in a wealthy district.  One item of information about the inheritance was not included in the will about the mansion!!  The property was acquired as a life lease.  It is a French custom, he will not be able to sell the house and he will have to pay Mathilde a pension of 2400 Euros a month as long as she lives!!  Mathilde also has a daughter Chloe and she lives there as well!!    

     These circumstances are very complex and Mathias is now not only still penniless but he will be in debt for 2400 Euros a month.  He is hoping this situation will not last forever since Mathilde is over 90 years old!!  I thought this was interesting and the acting is good.  The story is also unusual.  I didn’t know how this was going to come to a resolution and I had never heard of a life lease?  3 ½* (I liked this movie)  

107 min, Drama directed by Israel Horovitz with Kevin Kline, Kristin Scott Thomas, Maggie Smith, Dominique Pinon, Noemie Lovovsky, Stephane De Groodt, Jean Christophe Allais, Jocelyne Vignon.

Note:  Imdb 6.3 out of 10, 60% critic 43% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 3*, Empire Online 2* out of 5*, The Telegraph 2* out of 5*,  The Guardian Peter Bradshaw 3* out of 5*, Amazon 3.7* out of 5* with 5984 reviews.

Special Note:  Filmed in Paris, France.  Originally, a play by Israel Horovitz premiering in 1996 at the Gloucester Stage Co. founded in East Gloucester, MA by Horovitz.  Maggie Smith and Kristin Scott Thomas also played mother and daughter roles in Keeping Mum of 2005.  Kevin Kline and Kristin Scott Thomas were also together in Life as a House of 2001.  Mathias claims he doesn’t speak French in the movie but in reality Kevin Kline is fluent in the language.  This is playwright and writer Israel Horovitz’s directorial debut at the age of 74.  Jane Birkin was originally cast as Chloe Girard.  There is a mistake when Lefebvre says he bought his boat with a viager and he was lucky because the owner died six days later.  Under French law, the seller must live for at least 20 days after contracts are signed.