Lady – Film Review
by Frank L.

Director – Samuel Abrahams
Writers – Samuel Abrahams, Miranda Campbell Bowling
Stars – Sian Clifford, Juliet Cowan, Laurie Kynaston

Lady Isabella Ravenhyde (Sian Clifford) is an aristocrat. She resides in an imposing Victorian mansion, Ravenhyde Hall, which is, by any standards, built on a grand scale. When the story begins, Lady Isabella is alone and in charge; for some unspecified reason. Both her husband and son are not in residence. There is a housekeeper, Becky (Juliet Cowan), but notwithstanding the enormity of Ravenhyde Hall, there does not appear to be any other servants.

Lady Isabella considers herself of an artistic temperament, and in consequence the high point of her existence is a talent show, Stately Stars, which she organises every year for children who are disadvantaged. As a result, she has hatched a scheme whereby she has employed one Sam (Laurie Kynaston), an emerging young documentarian, to make a documentary about herself. She lures him in by saying it is being funded by Netflix. In addition, she proposes to show the documentary in Stately Star. Of course, there is no Netflix funding. Sam is not best pleased, nor is he amused to discover that it is her intention to show the film in the talent show which is for children!

As the filming proceeds, Lady Isabella manages surreally to make her hands disappear, then her arms and finally her entire self. It is bizarre to watch. Presumably this is some sort of metaphor for the gradual diminution in prestige for the English aristocratic class. Certainly they have ceded in the popular press to the world of celebrities about which it would seem Lady Isabella is aware, as she states early on she is the aristocracy’s answer to the Kardashians.

One of the endearing features of the film is the remarkable furnishings of Ravenhyde Hall includes a large, sinister collection of taxidermy, but more engagingly, a wall with several shelves on which sit delightful platters. The film was apparently shot in Somerleyton Hall, the interiors of which range from the creepy to the stylish.

Sian Clifford gives a barnstorming performance whether acting as the chatelaine of Ravensdale Hall or as the wannabe artist as she pursues the making of the mockumentary with Sam. Kynaston acts as a suitable foil to the omnipotent Lady Isabella. IMDB categorises the film as both a “comedy” and a “drama”. Comedy is a subjective phenomenon. While there were undoubtedly some comic moments, it would be difficult to describe the film as a comedy. It inhabits the more subtle end of the mockumentary genre. However, it is a vehicle for Sian Clifford to show off her many talents as an actor, which she does.