Movies about getting old usually suck. They’re either painfully saccharine or so depressing you want to turn the TV off after ten minutes. But then there’s the How About You movie.
Released in 2007 and based on a short story by the legendary Maeve Binchy, this film manages to do something most "senior cinema" fails at: it treats older people like actual human beings with baggage, tempers, and sharp tongues. It’s not just a cozy watch for a Sunday afternoon. Honestly, it’s a masterclass in ensemble acting that flew under the radar for way too many people.
If you haven't seen it, the setup is simple. A young woman named Ellie (played by Hayley Atwell before she became Marvel’s Peggy Carter) is left in charge of a residential home for the elderly during Christmas. Most of the residents have cleared out to be with family. But four of them—the "hardcore" cases—stay behind. They are grumpy. They are demanding. And they are absolutely wonderful to watch.
What Actually Happens in the How About You Movie?
The plot doesn't rely on massive explosions or high-stakes car chases. It relies on friction. Ellie is out of her depth. She’s filling in for her sister, Kate, who runs the home. The four residents staying behind are essentially the "unplayables."
You’ve got the Nightingale sisters, Hazel and Heather. They are played by Imelda Staunton and Brenda Fricker. Think about that for a second. You have a woman who played Dolores Umbridge and an Oscar winner from My Left Foot sharing the screen as bickering sisters. Their dynamic is the engine of the movie. They fight. They nitpick. They harbor decades of resentment that only sisters can truly understand.
Then there’s Georgia Platt. Vanessa Redgrave plays her with this fading-grandeur elegance that is honestly heartbreaking. She’s a former actress who still lives in her past glories, clutching onto her dignity while her memory and health start to fray at the edges. Finally, there’s Donald (Joss Ackland), a man who has largely checked out of life.
Ellie doesn't treat them like "the elderly." She treats them like people who are annoying her. And strangely, that’s exactly what they need.
Why the Cast is the Secret Sauce
The How About You movie lives or dies on its performances. If you put lesser actors in these roles, it becomes a Hallmark movie. But with this cast? It’s heavy.
Imelda Staunton is a force of nature here. She brings a specific kind of British (well, Irish-set, but the cast is a mix) rigidity that feels so authentic. She isn't "cute." She’s difficult. Brenda Fricker counters her with a softer, more resigned energy, but the sparks between them feel real. You get the sense these characters have been having the same argument since 1964.
Hayley Atwell, in one of her earlier roles, provides the perfect foil. She’s young, a bit messy, and not particularly "professional" in the way her sister is. That lack of professionalism is her superpower. She breaks the rules of the home. She lets them drink. She lets them be themselves.
The Maeve Binchy Connection
You can’t talk about this film without talking about the source material. Maeve Binchy had a gift for finding the extraordinary in the ordinary. She wrote about people you’d meet at the grocery store or see at church, but she gave them inner lives that were sprawling and complex.
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The How About You movie captures that "Binchy-ness" perfectly. It understands that moving into a residential home isn't the end of a story; it’s just a change of setting. The drama doesn't stop because you’re 80. If anything, the stakes get higher because time is running out.
The screenplay, written by Jean Pasley, takes Binchy’s short story Hard Core and expands it without losing the soul of the characters. It keeps the Irish charm without leaning too hard into the "Oirish" stereotypes that plague so many films set in rural Ireland. It’s grounded.
A Different Kind of Christmas Movie
Most people look for Love Actually or The Holiday when December rolls around. Those are fine. But this movie is the antidote to the over-polished Christmas flick.
It’s rainy. It’s gray. It’s a bit lonely.
The holidays are often the loneliest time for people in residential care, and the film doesn't shy away from that. There’s a scene involving a dinner that goes spectacularly wrong, and it captures that specific holiday stress we all feel—the pressure to "be happy" when you’re actually just annoyed with everyone in the room.
Technical Craft and Direction
Anthony Byrne directed this, and he made some interesting choices. The cinematography by Des Whelan doesn't try to make the home look like a luxury hotel. It looks lived-in. It looks like a place where people have spent a lot of time sitting in the same chairs.
The pacing is deliberate. It’s not fast. It allows the scenes to breathe, which is necessary when you have actors like Redgrave and Staunton. You want to see the micro-expressions. You want to see the silence between the lines.
Interestingly, the film’s title comes from the song "How About You?"—the classic Frank Sinatra / Judy Garland standard. The lyrics talk about liking New York in June and "Gershwin tunes." It’s a song about shared tastes and finding common ground, which is exactly what the characters have to do to survive the week.
Common Misconceptions About the Film
People often lump the How About You movie in with The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. While they share a demographic, they are very different films. Marigold Hotel is a fantasy. It’s bright colors and life-changing epiphanies in India.
How About You is much more intimate. It’s about the small victories. It’s about finally telling your sister what you’ve been thinking for forty years. It’s about a former star realizing she still has an audience, even if it’s just three other grumpy people and a stressed-out twenty-something.
Another misconception is that it’s a "chick flick." That’s a lazy label. It’s a character study. It’s about the universal fear of losing our autonomy and the joy of finding it again in unexpected places.
Real-World Reception
When it came out, critics were generally kind but not glowing. The Guardian called it "a sweet-natured, if predictable, comedy." The Hollywood Reporter praised the acting but thought the plot was a bit thin.
They missed the point.
The "thinness" of the plot is intentional. Life in a residential home is often "thin." The drama is found in the small things—a misplaced item, a comment about a dress, a shared glass of whiskey. If the movie had a more complex plot, it would have felt fake.
The Legacy of the Film in 2026
Looking back from 2026, the How About You movie feels even more relevant. Our population is aging. More and more families are navigating the complexities of elder care.
Watching this film today, you see a pre-smartphone world where people actually had to talk to each other to pass the time. It feels nostalgic, not just for the era it was filmed, but for the way it values conversation over spectacle.
It also serves as a reminder of the incredible career of Vanessa Redgrave. In an era where many older actresses are relegated to "grandmother" roles with three lines, this film gave her space to be a diva, a victim, and a hero all at once.
Actionable Takeaways for Movie Lovers
If you're planning to watch—or rewatch—this gem, here is how to get the most out of it.
- Don't watch it on a tiny screen. The performances from the four leads are so nuanced that you’ll miss the eye rolls and the subtle lip quivers if you’re watching on a phone.
- Pair it with Maeve Binchy’s writing. If you like the vibe, go read the original story in the collection This Year It Will Be Different. It gives you a deeper look into the sisters' backstory.
- Watch for the soundtrack. The use of jazz and swing standards isn't just background noise; it’s a window into the characters’ youth. It’s how they remember themselves.
- Look for the "Easter eggs" in the acting. Watch how Brenda Fricker and Imelda Staunton mirror each other’s movements. It’s a brilliant bit of "sibling" acting that most people blink and miss.
The film doesn't offer a "happily ever after" where everyone is cured of their ailments and lives forever. It offers something better: a moment of genuine connection. It shows that no matter how old you are, you can still change. You can still surprise people. And you can definitely still cause a little bit of trouble.
The How About You movie reminds us that growing old isn't a transition into silence—it's just a different way of being loud. If you’re tired of the same old Hollywood tropes, this is the one to put on your watchlist. It’s honest, it’s sharp, and it’s got more heart in its pinky finger than most modern blockbusters have in their entire two-hour runtime.
Next time you’re scrolling through a streaming service and everything looks the same, look for this one. It’s a small film with a massive soul.
Watch the film on platforms like Amazon Prime or Apple TV, or look for the DVD in local libraries—it’s a staple of many Irish and British film collections.