Elsa & Fred is a syrupy, cutesy comedy bolstered by people who clearly know what they're doing. I'm not exactly rocking anyone's world by stating that Shirley MacLaine and Christopher Plummer are excellent, legendary actors and they make not so solid material work brilliantly. It's that rarest and most delightful of films that is completely saved by the performances. Both Oscar winners, these two have no trouble carrying this film all the way through and making it one of the best surprises in recent memory.
Plummer plays Fred, a bitter old man who sulks in bed about his recently deceased wife much to the chagrin of his daughter (Marcia Gay Harden) and her husband (Chris Noth,) who have even hired a caretaker (Erika Alexander) to make sure that he is doing everything he needs to. When he moves in across the hall from Elsa (MacLaine,) an equally bitter senior citizen whose son (Scott Bakula) only means to help but only seems to make things worse, they find a connection after a disastrous night in the kitchen for Fred. Thing is Fred has already experienced a film romance while Elsa has always wanted to know what that feels like. Soon enough, Fred is intent on giving Elsa that feeling but problems arise that prevent him from going through with it.
Instantly, Plummer and MacLaine find sparkling, palpable chemistry with one another. These are two actors who love their craft and do it so well that the audience never once sees through them. There's nothing quite as enjoyable as watching two incredible pros build an on screen relationship with one another. The other trick that Plummer and MacLaine miraculously pull is not making their characters bland archetypes. These are two complex people with great depth and meaning to them. Both are bombarded by their offspring about how they need to just take it is. As much as both seem to appreciate their intentions, they want to live the remaining parts of their lives as they please. This is certainly not an uncommon idea in real life and director Michael Radford (who co-wrote the script with Anna Pavignano) shows both sides of the coin.
There is also a wonderfully intimate feeling this film uses. As Elsa and Fred fall in love, the viewer feels right there with them, which makes how likable they are shine through even more. The audience realizes just how wonderful being in the presence of these two would be. They are flawed people to be sure but also significantly more full of life and charisma than most people who are half or even a third their age. Now I'm not saying that this is a perfect film. It is too precious and has too much of a soft heart in certain spots and even at 95 minutes, there is some lagging as the inevitable "break up, forgiveness" aspect comes into play. What makes them break it off temporarily is only in the film because it's needed. There is no sense to anything that makes them not want to see one another. Watching the film, it seems to be reasonable at first sight but it's so much of a plot point and not an actual event that it took me out of the film. However, the wonderful end scenes between Elsa and Fred as well as the downright heartbreaking final scene are all enough to overcome its flaws.
Plummer and MacLaine shine with a great supporting cast in Harden, Noth and Bakula playing their parts with more sparkle than imaginable. This is far from a perfect film but it is a film with near perfect performances that elevate my rating of the film to very, very good and make it so that I think anyone can thoroughly enjoy this film.
(4 out of 5 Stars, The film is rated PG-13 for brief strong language)
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