Vicki Friend

I’m quite shocked at the excellent reviews this film has. Maybe it’s because of my age, 70, but I absolutely did not like this film at all. Yes, we all know the concept. Happy family lives next to the death camp. We were occasionally reminded of this with the sounds or smoke and of course, teeth. It’s shocking but it’s all been done before. I’m Jewish, I lost family, and others in my family fought this war from England, with losses. I loathed the narrow lense and the quiet voices. I saw this in a Curzon cinema and I talked afterwards with 3 other cinema goers. They all felt the same. I wish I’d walked out

This is an absolute masterpiece of both theatricality and the art of witty conversation, though I’m sure that’s not how the four dames would see it themselves. There is simply nothing contrived about this. We, the audience feel like we are simply watching a fabulous ‘looking back’ over the years session, a most natural thing to do. Whilst we as lay men and women do this regularly we are not used to seeing 4 such wonderful actresses (yes, actresses) doing it with such ease, mischievousness and sheer fun. And, what memories. I have seen 3 out of the 4 in the theatre in the last 3 years, Judi Dench in the last month. I shall never tire of watching this. A heartfelt thank you ladies. Irrelevant I know, but last night I saw the last performance of Sondheim’s Old Friends and there in the audience was another of my favourite ladies, Ann Reid, she deserves a dame hood too, a great actress.