Mark Reviews Movies: TEA WITH THE DAMES

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Review by Mark Dujsik | September 27, 2018

With age comes perspective, knowledge, and a willingness to say what might have been left unspoken in youth. If the words are true, we call that wisdom, and Tea with the Dames, a documentary that captures a frank discussion among four prestigious actresses, has plenty of wisdom to offer.

The actors are Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Eileen Atkins, and Joan Plowright, all of them honored as dames for their contributions to drama. The four women are colleagues and friends, who get together occasionally at the country estate that Plowright shared with her late husband Laurence Olivier. They have a few stories about him—mostly how terrified they were to work with him. Plowright, now blind and retired, accidentally lets it slip that she once wrote a letter to her parents in her youth, calling the actor who would become her future husband a "ham."

One would imagine that the presence of director Roger Michell and his crew would be an intrusion for these women, who might refuse or be hesitant to speak openly and honestly about the various subjects that the filmmaker raises off-camera. Quite the contrary, the four don't filter their answers and often seem oblivious to the camera. They are, after all, experts at ignoring the camera at this point.

We learn a lot about their careers—on stage, on screens, and behind the scenes—and a bit less about their personal lives. The conversation moves effortlessly from the craft of acting (discussing how the concept of naturalism changes with every generation, the proper way to perform Shakespeare, and, for Smith, the art of the sly look in close-up) to specific roles, from love and marriage to the trials of working with a romantic partner, and from regrets (which Michell smartly frames as advice they would give to their younger selves) to trying to get work in American movies when Dench seems to have a firm hold on roles all of them could play.

They laugh at that observation, and even Dench, who seems mildly embarrassed by the notion, takes it in good stride. In Tea with the Dames, it's always obvious that these women genuinely enjoy each other's company, and Michell is wise enough to stay out of the way. He allows the women the pleasure of their own company, and it's a pleasure to see, hear, and learn from them.

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