The Lady in the Van (2015) * *

Directed by:  Nicholas Hytner

Starring:  Maggie Smith, Alex Jennings, Jim Broadbent

The Lady in the Van is based on a "mostly true story" as per the credits.     Most movies "based on a true story" are like this anyway.     We know for certain that when a movie is based on a true story, there are elements that are left out while others exaggerated for dramatic effect.      This should not be news to anyone anymore.     If you understand going in that not everything you will see actually happened exactly that way, you will rest easier.   

The story of The Lady in the Van is based on the memoirs of acclaimed author and screenwriter Alan Bennett, played here by Alex Jennings, who reminds us of Truman Capote and/or Elton John whenever he appears on screen.     Bennett is best known for his Oscar-nominated screenplay for The Madness of King George (1994), which discussed King George III's bowel movements as the key to determining his mental health.     ("A person can have a copious bowel movement and still be a complete stranger to reason")    That was a pretty good movie.    Bowel movements play a part in this film too.    I will explain how later. 

The lady of the title is Miss Shepherd (Smith), a vagrant who lives, eats, sleeps, and defecates in her van.     She rarely bathes and the smell of her and her van is referred to time and again.     We can only imagine what she or the van smells like, hoping never to have to actually smell it.     Once in a while, her feces finds itself outside her van and Alan steps in it several times.      Miss Shepherd parks her van on the streets of a quiet, clean London community.     The residents feel bad for her, so they tolerate her to an extent.     Soon, though, all of the curbs are painted yellow and Miss Shepherd refuses to take a hint that she isn't altogether welcome.    

Alan decides to let her park her van in his driveway, where she stays for 15 years while only occasionally being allowed to use Alan's bathroom.      Miss Shepherd is assigned a social worker who drops by every few weeks and chastises Alan for letting her stay in her van.     Alan is not a saint, mind you, but allowing Miss Shepherd to stay in his driveway is saintly.     He begrudgingly begins to care for the clearly batty woman who is hiding a guilty secret which only a few know about.   

As the film opens, we hear (but don't see) Miss Shepherd driving a van that comes into contact with a motorcyclist, killing him instantly and forcing Miss Shepherd to lose her mind.      Her life is a self-imposed penance for her supposed wrongdoings.     She feels she must repent by living in squalor.    Occasionally, a shadowy man (Broadbent) comes by to extract a payoff from her.     We learn why and how later, although it doesn't edify us much.     It adds some suspense to the story only to disappoint us when we learn there isn't much to the relationship.

The movie's tone and score suggest a light comedy.     The Lady in the Van is not necessarily a comic story.    We see Miss Shepherd is not well physically or emotionally.    She is a lot to put up with and her guarded demeanor only allows for so much sympathy before we hope she gets thrown in a home already.     Her behavior is extreme, even for someone who goes to confession every day hoping to be absolved for the same sin she was absolved for the day before...and the day before that.    It is so extreme that we hope there is at least an understandable reason for it.     It turns out there is not.     If anything, Miss Shepherd's actions and behavior over 15 years becomes even more puzzling in light of what really happened.

The Lady in the Van is an unusual story, one Alan might tell his friends about, but not one that necessarily needed to be filmed.      Alan (and his imaginary doppelganger) debate over whether Miss Shepherd's story should even be written about.     I did not find the whole doppelganger angle effective.    Why must Alex Jennings be forced to play two separate Alan Bennetts?    It is a storytelling device that distracts more than it illuminates.     It is a testament to the considerable talent of Maggie Smith that she is able to make us care as much as we are able for Miss Shepherd.     In recent years, Smith has played mostly sarcastic, cynical, world-weary characters with a snarky remark for everything.     Was she still Maggie Smith or has she become the new Phyllis Diller?     In The Lady in the Van, she lays off the snark.    A wise decision considering the woman she plays already has a few strikes against her already.