Mrs. Henderson Presents (2005)

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

It's 1937 England. Mrs. Laura Henderson (Judi Dench) loses her high-powered husband Robert. She buys a theater naming it Windmill Theater inspired by Moulin Rouge in Paris. She hires producer Vivian Van Damm (Bob Hoskins). They start a variety revue which is successful at first. When it starts to slow, Mrs. Henderson suggests naked ladies. She is able to get her friend the Lord Chamberlain to approve as long as no one moves. Vivian finds Maureen (Kelly Reilly) caught out in the rain and hires her as one of the girls. The show keeps going even during the blitz.It's a very flat story despite all the interesting story points. I put it down to the fact that the Henderson character has no drama. She doesn't need the success or the money. She has no foil except maybe Vivian sometimes. The nude shows are as much fun as one expects from naked women in poses. The humor is very British and isn't that big. The girls' stories don't add that much to the comedy other than demanding the men to get naked. It's not nearly funny or dramatic enough.

I came to this movie after seeing Bent and getting to Martin Sherman. Wanted to lap everything that he had created and looked forward to this treat.What a disappointment! What starts an endearing quip between Judi and Biob becomes repetitive and after a while 'oh shut up'. The research that must have gone to make this was very inadequate so the plot remained centred around rich woman, arrogant manager of the theatre she owned, nude women - that was it..and of course a world war. one would think that would be enough, instead the writer scrapes for material and makes conversations out of thin air which are mere reel-fills.you don't really know where its going after a while, and unless you are seriously interested in female nudity - this will be a big yawn. its a tragedy that a movie with sound potential could become a big disaster sustained only by the might of its actors - even they however need heavy duty lifting to manage.

Elderly though indefatigable British widow in 1937 decides (seemingly on a whim) to invest her time and money into renovating a shuttered theatre in London, hiring a savvy show manager to coordinate the programs and help her with such wonderful tasks as auditions. After several weeks of success, the lovingly bickering business partners find the West End is draining them of their audiences, so Mrs. Henderson nonchalantly offers an invaluable solution: to bring the frisky style of France's Moulin Rogue to England--but will the stuffy Lord Chamberlain permit them to showcase nude women on the stage? Alternately endearing and creaky mixture of comedy, drama, pathos, sentiment, and war-time nostalgia easily gets by on the strength of stars Judi Dench and Bob Hoskins (who also served as executive producer). The editing is a bit sloppy, rendering the narrative slapdash on occasion, while the WWII backdrop is so artificially presented it seems almost to represent a fantasy (perhaps intentionally). However, Dench is a winner, creating an enjoyable and three-dimensional characterization: at once willful, exasperating and loving. She's both mother-hen to her girls and wife-substitute to Hoskins, who works very well with her. Watching this great actress glide through the simple material so bemusedly reaps its own rewards and, though the heaviness of the film's midsection appears to be leading nowhere, the picture does finally move us by focusing on character instead of on incident. **1/2 from ****

Stephen Frears presents a wonderful movie. Another outstanding cast with a fantastic performance from Judie Dench (as Laura Henderson) Playing the part of a bored widow until she buys the windmill theater.I found this movie exceptionally brave to go outside of the ordinary and film a movie about naked girls in the 1920's. But even though this film has some nudity, it isn't about nudity. It is about listening and following instead of giving instruction. and it's about it's personality that counts not there looks(I'm sure you have heard about that saying)and there are others I'm sure that I haven't included.A huge portion of my enjoyment of this film was of course the music and dance that went on in the windmill theater.George Fenton(the writer of the music)and Will Young (singer and actor)a perfect combination which made the ending song (turn the sails of the windmill) sad because it was nearing the end of the film.