Calendar Girls

A film set in a village in the north of England. Annie and Chris have been friends for years. Both belong to the village women's institute; the meetings cover cake making, flower arranging and rug weaving, and both are bored. Annie's husband John falls ill and dies. The worn chairs in the hospital waiting room stay in her mind. Chris has an idea: the institute produces a calendar every year, and this time the women in it will not be clothed. The aim is to raise the money for a new chair at the hospital. The committee objects. Enough women agree anyway and the photographs are taken; in each one the women are busy with some domestic task and the arrangement is done deftly. The calendar sells far beyond expectation. Then the press comes in and the matter leaves the village: television programmes, offers from America and meetings about advertising. The second half is about how that attention damages the friendships in the village. The narrative is based on real events. Julie Walters plays Annie and Helen Mirren plays Chris. Penelope Wilton, Linda Bassett and Ciarán Hinds are in the cast. Nigel Cole directed. A warm choice for anyone who likes English village comedy and films based on real events. For a viewer expecting a measured register, the film raises the emotional dose in its second half.