Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont

I caught this movie starring Joan Plowright (Mrs Sarah Palfrey) and Rupert Friend (Ludoveic Meyer). If you can recognize her, found out online that she was the nanny in "101 Dalmations" and the voice of Baylene the Brontosaurus in "Dinosaur". This 2005 movie was Rupert Friend's debut movie, along with Pride & Prejudice.

This movie is about how Mrs Palfrey arrived in London at the Claremont Hotel, met with the residents who had been spending their days there for years as she attempts to live her life independently. She brought along a photo of her late husband, Arthur and as her grandson who worked in London failed to turn up for a visit at the Claremont, she began to feel lonely.

She met writer Ludo who helped her up when she fell outside his basement apartment one day and an amazing friendship grew from their encounter. Ludo was mistaken as Mrs Palfrey's grandson by the Claremont's residents. He graciously accepted a dinner invitation as her grandson and affectionately called her as "Sasa" (that her grandson used to call her by).

Both were drawn together by their love for poetry and shared their stories with one another. While Ludo revealed that he was not on good terms with his mother who was disappointed by his choice of career, Mrs Palfrey told him of memories of Arthur and her.

When one of the residents, Elvira Arbuthnot passed away, Mrs Palfrey became moody and as Ludo found a new romance, she began to feel lonely once more. One day, she fell from the stairs and was admitted to the hospital. Ludo rushes to the hospital once news reached him. He seemed to realize that time may be slipping through his hands and he rushes to finish a book dedicated to Mrs Palfrey, named "My Sasa". While ironically, Mrs Palfrey's real grandson and daughter did not get to come to know of her accident till the day she passed away. Ludo however stayed with her until then, reading poetry to Mrs Palfrey everyday.

It's a beautiful story which taught me to look around for the smallest things in life that sometimes could mean so much. As we live our lives in a rush, slow down and don't be afraid to show appreciation to those important to us. Cherish every moment as "tommorrow was meant for some, tommorrow may never come, for all we know".

I'm not sure if this movie is shown in Singapore, but if it does, it's a movie worth catching. Shall leave this post with the movie's theme song "For all we know".

For All We Know

For all we know, we may never meet again.
Before you go, make this moment sweet again.

We won't say goodnight, until the last minute.
I'll hold out my hand and my heart will be in it.

For all we know, this may only be a dream.
We come and we go, like the ripple on a stream.

So love me, love me tonight.
Tommorrow was meant for some, tommorrow may never come.
For all we know.