Synopsis
Emily Walters is an American widow living a peaceful, uneventful existence in the idyllic Hampstead Village of London, when she meets local recluse, Donald Horner. For 17 years, Donald has lived—wildly yet peacefully—in a ramshackle hut near the edge of the forest. When Emily learns his home is the target of developers who will stop at nothing to remove him, saving Donald and his property becomes her personal mission. Despite his gruff exterior and polite refusals for help, Emily is drawn to him—as he is to her—and what begins as a charitable cause evolves into a relationship that will grow even as the bulldozers close in.
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Cast
- Diane KeatonEmily Walters
- Brendan GleesonDonald Horner
- James NortonPhilip
- Lesley ManvilleFiona
- Jason WatkinsJames Smythe
- Simon CallowJudge
- Alistair PetrieSteve Crowley
- Phil DavisFyfe
- Hugh SkinnerErik
- Adeel AkhtarDonald's Lawyer
Recommendations
- 80
The New York Times
Overall, the lively, unfussy Hampstead goes down easy. - 60
TheWrap
Keaton’s terrific, and it’s sweet and airy and so unhurried you really feel like you’ve had a nice afternoon in the long grasses and cool breezes on the edge of the city. - 60
Time Out London
This is an unapologetically fluffy film that never digs deep into its characters’ lives. Its pleasures are patchy. Keaton offers an endearing performance, even if her chemistry with Gleeson (not on top form) is weirdly lacking. - 60
Empire
This slight, modestly sweet and mildly charming affair squarely aimed at the older cinemagoer is just the bill for those seniors’ matinées where the ticket comes with a cuppa and a biscuit. - 60
Los Angeles Times
The quasi-credible friendship that develops between Emily and Harry gives way to a less plausible romance. But the winning, sympathetic Keaton and an enjoyably puckish Gleeson largely sell the contrived setup. - 60
Film Threat
Hampstead is a perfectly good romantic dramedy. - 50
The Hollywood Reporter
The extemporized feel to some of the dialogue makes their rapport seem all the more credible and consequently there is something open-hearted and friendly about the performers that keeps the film watchable, for all its faults. - 50
Variety
Gleeson and Keaton, for their part, play this bourgeois rags-to-tweed fairytale with such good humor that one is fleetingly able to overlook the frank bogusness of the mechanics that bring them together.
