Camilla is a 1994 film directed by Deepa Mehta. It was Jessica Tandy's penultimate film appearance and is dedicated to her memory. Tandy plays the title character, Camilla Cara, a former concert violinist. It is a road movie with Bridget Fonda playing the opposite, younger female role of Freda Lopez, herself a musician/composer, albeit unfulfilled. The two leave their male companions, Camilla's son Harold, a B-movie producer and Vincent, Freda's husband and artist behind in Savannah, Georgia to return to Toronto to attend a concert of Brahms' Violin Concerto at the Winter Garden Theatre. This performance is a mirror of a performance of Camilla's given at the same venue many years earlier. The film is not only an adventure-filled journey, but also a reconciling of the two women's pasts and futures. Camilla and Freda bond over Camilla's unconditional support that she extends for Freda's music which Freda's husband will or can not give. This bond forms despite the obviously exaggerated stories Camilla tells of her own life. The men, after having left the women to work on a joint project, return to Savannah to find the ladies have vanished. As Vincent and Harold embark on a search for Freda and Camilla, they, too, come to realize that they must reconcile their broken relationships with the women in their lives.
Cast
Critical reception
Camilla received a mixed response from critics. The film holds a 40% positive "Rotten" rating on the review aggregatorRotten Tomatoes. Several reviewers wrote that Tandy's performance was the best aspect of the film. Janet Maslin of The New York Times described Tandy was a "graceful presence" in the film, and said that "She moves enchantingly through an otherwise treacly film that wouldn't work without her." Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times wrote that Tandy's final film roles "show an elderly woman of great dignity and strength, stubbornness and eventual warmth" and concluded that "What Camilla adds to the palate is humor and some naughtiness". In a review in the San Francisco Chronicle, Peter Stack wrote that Tandy was a "bright, vital presence" in the film and said that "Tandy's eyes are so full of light and impish good humor, it's no wonder she almost sweeps away Fonda", concluding that "Tandy's performance is so enchanting, you forgive a lot".
