"Shaw plays Kit, an elegant and wealthy widow living in a handsome apartment on Park Avenue in midtown Manhattan, known for her witty disdain for those less stylish than herself and about to publish a memoir of life with her late husband, a collector of Chinese art. Out of the blue her grown up daughter Charlotte (Waterston) appears, having run out on her abusive rancher husband; she intends to stay for a while with her mother in her childhood Park Avenue home"
"Charlotte instantly regresses to her teen self, all to the satirically polite dismay of her mother, who appears to suggest that it would be better if Charlotte simply returned to her husband and somehow made this marriage of hers work. As things progress, the mother-daughter odd couple relationship becomes spikier and more intense as Charlotte realises that Kit's airy, haughty detachment and imperious, droll mannerisms mask a deeper pain although it's quite extraordinary that Charlotte hasn't guessed what's physically wrong before this."
"This is an agreeable, diverting spectacle with classy New York locations and scenes that haven't been fashionable since the middle period of Woody Allen. There is sweetness and melancholy here, with an interesting cameo from British author Hari Kunzru, though it's also unclear if all this adds up to anything very substantial. Great stuff from Shaw, however, who is fearless and direct in a way that very few actors can match."
Kit is an elegant, wealthy widow in Park Avenue preparing a memoir of life with her late husband, a Chinese art collector. Her grown daughter Charlotte arrives after fleeing an abusive rancher husband and moves into her childhood Park Avenue home. Charlotte regresses emotionally while Kit reacts with satirical politeness, suggesting Charlotte return to her husband. Their relationship grows spikier as Charlotte realizes Kit's haughtiness conceals deeper pain, though Charlotte's failure to notice physical illness is surprising. The film offers classy New York settings, sweetness and melancholy, a Hari Kunzru cameo, and particularly strong work from Fiona Shaw, while feeling ultimately middleweight.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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