Some might say Lady, which had its world premiere at the London Film Festival, is Saltburn meets What We Do in the Shadows. That’s not correct, as it’s both those movies meets Florence Foster Jenkins. By which I mean, Lady is a faux-documentary about an utterly deluded and impossibly wealthy woman in which some impossible things are caught on camera. It is also mainly a two-hander, with Sian Clifford (as Isabella the lady) and Laurie Kynaston (as Sam the documentarian) alone in a preposterously enormous house. Well, almost alone. And it’s so cleverly done the teensy budget and the smallness of the cast has no impact on how powerfully good Lady is, and how very, very funny its plot twists manage to be.
Ms. Clifford’s comic performance here, which can’t be praised highly enough, carries it all off with ease. Isabella has commissioned Sam, a young filmmaker who was recently nominated for a BAFTA, to document her journey into becoming an artist as publicity for the yearly talent show she throws. This year she plans to enter “Stately Stars” herself, never mind that the talent competition is for kids. The only wrinkle in this excellent plan is that she’s not sure what she’s good at, so Isabella, Sam and the largely unseen camera crew run around the grounds trying to work out where her talents lie. Perhaps it’s smearing herself in paint and becoming a performance artist. Perhaps it’s acting, in the hedge maze. Perhaps it’s singing, in the music room. Or poetry. Or something else! With her bottomless resources she’s sure to find it eventually.
Terri Higgins’ costumes deserve special praise not only for bringing back the coloured leather glove, but also for emphasizing how sharp tailoring choices (or Sam’s knitted yellow beanie) can define a whole personality without words. For his own part Sam is an anxious young man, uncertain about his talents, and who badly needs the work even if his agent lied to him about the brief. So even though he is completely incapable of standing up to Isabella, he’s got no choice but to do his best. Though when Isabella starts throwing herself at Sam, quite desperately really, it’s rapidly clear that best might not suffice.
Desperate is indeed the word. At first Isabella’s lack of self-awareness and delusions of talent earn the vicious laughs the British love from their comedy, which is often designed to sneer at someone who’s forgotten their place. But even as Ms. Clifford expertly puts her entire back into playing the horse’s ass, director Samuel Abrahams (who co-wrote the script with Miranda Campbell Bowling) makes an unexpected pivot to American-sitcom-style schmaltz. Without spoilers it’s hard to explain just how unlikely this mood shift is, but they all pull it off, and by the end it’s becomes impossible to dislike either Isabella or Sam. This is very rare in British comedy which just loves to punch someone when they’re down. For the most part it also prefers its deluded fools to stay that way; for just one example, Steve Coogan’s beloved character Alan Partridge has been going since 1991. But fashions change, and the youths will sympathise with Sam’s imposter syndrome and class anxiety over Isabella’s oppressive home décor and relentless chirping that everything is fine.
Obviously the budget went on hiring the filming location (Somerleyton Hall, which is truly impressive) and property porn connoisseurs will not be disappointed. Yet the clever special effects elevate Lady from yet another mockumentary into something stranger and wilder. And the surprise is not just how well Mr. Abrahams makes the impossible plot twist feel almost ordinary, but also how smoothly he balances cruelty and kindness towards Isabella, both in how Sam feels about her, and how we do. Lady even sticks the ending, which is not a spoiler to say involves a taxidermied bear. The whole movie is a delightful surprise that will leave you with a genuine, enormous smile on your face. And it’s worth saying again that Ms. Clifford deserves extraordinary praise for her bravery, boldness and sense of fun.
Lady recently played at the London Film Festival.
Learn more about the film at the IMDB site for the title.
You might also like…
‘A Private Life’ Film Review – Jodie Foster’s Excellent French Story