Four dames gathered at an English countryside estate sounds like the beginning of a classic British film. It is, in fact. Tea with the Dames is a documentary from director Roger Michell (Noting Hill) that features four esteemed old friends—Dames Judi Dench, Joan Plowright, Maggie Smith and Eileen Atkins—who all just happen to be a quartet of the most talented actresses on the planet.
Witnessing them gather for tea (mostly water and a tad of champagne, if we’re being honest) is an exercise in pure Dame delight.
Some documentaries live and die within the framework of the “naturalness,” for lack of a better word, of the subjects being documented. The realness of the friendship, deep respect and affinity for one another that this foursome possesses permeates the entire film. Actually, when the movie comes to a close, the viewer will wish it had not concluded.
Can’t we keep visiting with these fine folks for another 90 minutes, please?!
These actresses not only ran in the same circles over their careers as esteemed British stage, television and film thespians, but were dear friends and have been for decades. The warmth that emanates between them leaps right through the screen and will warm your heart. May we all be so fortunate to have one compadre like these women have with each other, much less four!
Dench, Smith, Atkins and Plowright wax poetic about their careers, marriages (in one hilarious moment Michell asks each of them about working with their husband, to which one divine Dame says, “which one?”), the addition of children to their merry group of friends, growing older and the actual emotional roller coaster that is being anointed Dame by the Kingdom of England.
The film is a mesmerizing tour de force that arises from the simplest of environments… four old friends conversing. The fact that they are legends in their fields and revered the world over is beside the point.
Tea with Dames is more an exercise in witnessing friendships in the most affable of ways. At certain points, Michell separates the four and breaks them into groups of two to chat and the dynamic does not shift in the least. Clearly, each has a unique relationship with the others and those are precious moments—particularly witnessing Smith and Dench delightfully dish. It is simultaneously endearing, entertaining and yes… even uproariously hilarious.
That was one of the biggest surprises from the film. The Fab Four crack each other up in the most precious of ways. Like, erupting in laughter so intense that it physically moves them. It is pure joy to behold.
Then again, should that be surprising? Think about your own friendships. Where there is true friendship, there inherently is loads of laughter. Yet, there is something about seeing these esteemed icons crack each other up with their distinctively British sense of humor that is as tasty as the most delicious of crumpets.
The film is intimately simplistic, but vast in emotional resonance and historical scope. Between the four of them, they have appeared in the most lauded of efforts in the history of their art. All masters of Shakespeare, Michell inserts video footage of their stage and television performances of The Bard and it is if we are witnessing the most searing of godly gifts from each one of these women.
Their discussions concerning their cinematic work is equally as compelling, especially when the discussion turns to the films that they were able to make together—specifically Tea with Mussolini and the two The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel films. Those moments give further insight into a collective friendship based on mutual appreciation, love and respect of the highest order.
The wisdom gleaned from these Dames is priceless. Dench, Atkins, Plowright and Smith brim with lessons that arise instinctively from their shared life experience. Especially powerful is when Michell asks each of these classiest of acts what advice they would impart to their younger selves. Each response rivets.
Michell’s Tea with the Dames is a thing of beauty on a multiple of levels.
As a film, stage or television appreciator, the chronicle of their experiences is like securing a front row seat into the art of performance executed at the highest level. As a fan of these four artists, visiting with them in this environment, and in the most naturalistic of environments, is a gift beyond gifts.
Why the film is so resonant, above all else, is how Michell captures four longtime friends living life with the most glorious of unbridled brilliance.
Grade: A