An oldie but a goodie

Some actors take to directing because they can't imagine doing any worse than some of those for whom they have worked. This may not be the case as far as Charles Dance is concerned, even though one has to say that he has not always had his due in film. His directorial debut, Ladies in Lavender, is carefully and competently laid out before us as though he had been doing it all his life.

To be nasty, you could say that this very old-fashioned film might have been made many years ago. But there is not necessarily anything wrong in that; some may even applaud it. The presence of dames Judi Dench and Maggie Smith certainly adds to its comforting feeling of certainty - no bad acting mistakes here.

The dames play two elderly spinsters who, as the Second World War is about to break out, find a young castaway (Daniel Bruhl) lying on the beach near their home in a nice, peaceful Cornish village.

They think he's German at first but take him in and succour him, discovering that he's Polish and plays the violin like a professional. The fulcrum of the piece is that Dench's Ursula falls for him and is much put out when he has eyes not for her, but for the far younger painter (Natascha McElhone) holidaying nearby.

The gentle tale is orchestrated by Dance with due attention to the acting as well as to its pre-war setting. It looks good and tastes like one of those Cornish cream teas we used to find on the menus of cafès when we were children.

There is a subtlety here that will undoubtedly bore some, but give considerable pleasure to those who don't wish to see everything spelt out in capital letters.

This England may no longer exist, but there is no reason why we shouldn't see such a resolutely nostalgic film about it. And the dames are as good value as the young Pole's violin playing.