Calendar Girls

Annie’s (Julie Walters) world is turned upside down when her husband, John (John Alderton), is diagnosed with leukaemia and dies. Annie becomes devoted to honouring his memory in the best way she can - by raising money to support leukaemia research and to help the hospital where he was treated.

Chris (Helen Mirren), Annie’s best friend, comes up with the idea of a calendar, only with the middle-aged members of the “respectable” Ryletone Women’s Institute posing for it in the nude.

Directed by Nigel Cole, Calendar Girls is based on the true story. Rather than simply injecting a series of humour anecdotes into actual events, however, Cole uses the true story as a departure point to tell a story about human relationships and the duality of fame and notoriety. Cole’s visual style is nothing spectacular, but the narration of the story is pretty slick.