Themes: Life on the Homefront, Women During Wartime
Main Cast: Judi Dench, Bob Hoskins, William Young, Christopher Guest, Kelly Reilly, Thelma Barlow
Release Year: 2005
Country: UK
Run Time: 103 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
A recently widowed eccentric with money to burn and no intentions of settling down enlists the aide of a showbiz professional to transform a run-down theater in Soho into London's most innovative entertainment hot spot in director Stephen Frears' cinematic account of the groundbreaking Windmill Theater. The year is 1937 and, despite having recently lost her husband, 69-year-old Laura Henderson (Judy Dench) remains as ambitious and vital as ever. Aghast at her friend Lady Conway's (Thelma Barlow) suggestion that she take up a mundane hobby such as diamond collecting to pass the time, Mrs. Henderson instead shocks her well-to-do social circle by purchasing the ramshackle Windmill Theater in the heart of downtown Soho. Unafraid to take a risk in the venture, yet lacking the experience needed to run the theater, Mrs. Henderson brings in showbiz veteran Vivian Van Damm (Bob Hoskins) to line up an opening act that will set the stage ablaze. When the ever-curious Mrs. Henderson's intrusive spying begins to impede on Mr. Van Damm's creative progress, the frustrated theater manager has her banished from rehearsals. Though Van Damm's innovative idea to stage an unending stream of entertainment dubbed "Revudeville" proves a wild and profitable success, the Windmill begins to suffer when other local theaters quickly follow suit. Now faced with the prospect of seeing her once-lucrative endeavor fall by the wayside due to the unoriginality of the copycats who surround her, Mrs. Henderson decides to show audiences something they've never seen before by making the Windmill the first theater to feature nude female entertainers live on-stage. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Review
Mrs. Henderson Presents seems to have been constructed both as a showcase for two great actors, and a historical seriocomedy examining the perseverance of culture in war-torn London. Stephen Frears' film achieves the first goal a bit more readily than the second. Perennial Oscar nominee Judi Dench is fabulous as the titular widow who refuses to grow old via thumb-twiddling hobbies, and Bob Hoskins is her equal sparring partner, playing the proud manager who oversees her revolutionary round-the-clock Windmill Theater. A viewer gets the sense that both actors are having a terrific time, their chemistry as good as their line deliveries are crisp. But the script tends to undercut their regal performances, having them squabble over trivialities that seem especially featherweight while their city is being reduced to rubble. In this way, Mrs. Henderson Presents is caught somewhere between a war epic and a comedy of manners, each element detracting some from the thrust of the other. One hesitates to call it a "costume drama," as many of its characters aren't wearing a stitch. Since the film is about how naked women on-stage teased the puritanical sensibilities of the proper English, who recognized they couldn't deny the troops a much-needed morale boost, the script's more farcical elements are the ones that really belong. However, the social commentary loses its teeth when the story shifts focus to the particular performers, and the variety of not-so-surprising problems and tragedies that entangle them. These sections of the film are a little less distinct. On the whole, though, Frears bring his usual sure hand to the project, and uses a unique and clever hook to study an important period of British history. The film just doesn't commit to any one agenda long enough to be a truly enduring work. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide
Toby Jones - Gordon; Anna Brewster; Doraly Rosen; Rosalind Halstead; Natalia Tena - Peggy; Sarah Solemani
Credit
Tony Woollard - Art Director, Kathy Rose - Associate Producer, David Rose - Associate Producer, Leo Davis - Casting, Eleanor Fazan - Choreography, Debbie Astell - Choreography, Sandy Powell - Costume Designer, Stephen Frears - Director, Lucia Zucchetti - Editor, Bob Hoskins - Executive Producer, David M. Thompson - Executive Producer, Cameron Mccracken - Executive Producer, David Aukin - Executive Producer, François Ivernel - Executive Producer, Tracey Scoffield - Executive Producer, Laurie Borg - Line Producer, Kevan Van Thompson - Line Producer, George Fenton - Composer (Music Score), Hugo Luczyc-Wyhowski - Production Designer, Andrew Dunn - Cinematographer, Norma Heyman - Producer, Peter Lindsay - Sound/Sound Designer, Graham Longhurst - Special Effects Supervisor, Martin Sherman - Screenwriter, Claudia Parker - Set Decorator, Stuart Renfrew - Assistant Director
The film is based on the true story of the Windmill Theatre in London. Eccentric 70-year-old widow Mrs Laura Henderson purchases it as a post-widowhood hobby, and appoints autocratic manager Vivian Van Damm. In 1937 they start a continuous variety review called 'Revudeville', but after other theatres in London copy this innovation, they begin to lose money. Mrs Henderson suggests they add female nudity similar to the Moulin Rouge in Paris. This is unprecedented in the United Kingdom. The Lord Chamberlain reluctantly allows this under the condition that the nude performers do not move so it can be considered art.
Because the theatre's auditorium is below street level it is relatively safe during the bombing of London, and performances continue. The performers bravely go on with the show even during frightening bombing raids, to the extent of the posed nude girls resuming their poses after ducking as the whole theatre is shaken and the scene flats all round them sway, following a bomb landing close by. Eventually, the authorities want the theatre to close because of the danger of crowds gathering in the street outside the theatre. However, Mrs Henderson successfully argues that for soldiers going to die in the war this is their last chance, and for many of the young soldiers their only chance, to see female nudity.
Maureen, one of the cast, becomes involved at Mrs Henderson's instigation with a young soldier, one of the audience regulars. Maureen becomes pregnant, is very upset about how it will affect her life, and hands in her notice. However, before the issue can be resolved, she is killed by a bomb while leaving the theatre.
Other scenes depict life in the theatre during the period. Mrs Henderson and Mr Van Damm frequently clash and squabble, but also show great appreciation of each other. The film's closing credits explain that on her death in 1944 Mrs Henderson bequeaths the theatre to Mr Van Damm.
The film received mostly positive reviews. According to Rotten Tomatoes 65% of the critics gave the film a positive review out of 133 reviews. The website Future Movies regarded "very funny, sweet and charming". Roger Ebert reacted fairly positively to the film, saying ""Mrs. Henderson Presents" is not great cinema, and neither was the Windmill great theater, but they both put on a good show.".
