Mrs. Henderson Presents

Widowed and wealthy, Laura Henderson buys the Windmill Theatre in London in 1931 with money she does not know what else to do with. She runs it with Vivian Van Damm. Their solution for keeping the house alive is putting nude women on stage, and the way around the censor is that the performers stay motionless, because a still body counts as art. When the war comes the theatre becomes a shelter during the raids and a last entertainment for soldiers about to ship out. Stephen Frears directed. Judi Dench plays Mrs Henderson and Bob Hoskins plays Van Damm. The story is true. It took 27.8 million dollars against a 20 million budget. It received two nominations at the 78th Academy Awards: Best Actress for Dench and Best Costume Design for Sandy Powell. It also had four BAFTA nominations and won the National Board of Review award for Best Ensemble Cast. Metacritic sits at 71, with critics singling out the Dench and Hoskins pairing. Who it is for: viewers who like period comedy and two seasoned actors trading lines. Who it is not for: anyone expecting a critical view of the subject. The film treats the nudity as a celebration throughout and barely picks at the question itself.