Ladies in Lavender [VHS]

Writer and director Charles Dance has crafted an admirable debut. Ladies in Lavender a tenderly done and bittersweet story of innocence and regret. Though the dialogue sometimes seems too earnest, and he has an over-reliance on slow motion cinematography, he still allows his two talented leads enough time and space to shine. It’s only unfortunate that more effort did not go into the DVD release of the film: the extras only consist of soundbites from the cast and crew, which add little insight. --Ted Kord