Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
BBC Arena's documentary on the Dames of British Theatre and film featuring Maggie Smith, Eileen Atkins, Judi Dench and Joan Plowright on screen together for the first time as they reminisce over a long summer weekend in a house Joan once shared with Sir Laurence Olivier.
Nothing Like a Dame is elevated almost entirely by the extraordinary company it keeps — Maggie Smith, Judi Dench, Eileen Atkins, and Joan Plowright are titans of British theatre and their chemistry, wit, and candour are genuinely exceptional, earning a high Acting mark even in a conversational documentary context. The film's structure is loose and unassuming, essentially a fly-on-the-wall recording of reminiscence, which keeps the Plot modest. Cinematography is functional and intimate but unremarkable — the filming leans on the setting and subjects rather than any visual ambition. Novelty is moderate: gathering four such legends together for the first time is a singular occasion, but the documentary form itself is conventional. The ending is warm but not particularly shaped or resonant — the film simply draws to a gentle close rather than arriving anywhere purposeful.