Elsa & Fred is a 2014 American comedy-drama film directed by Michael Radford. It is produced by Matthias Ehrenberg, Ed Saxon, Jose Levy, Nicolas Veinberg and Rob Weston. The film stars Shirley MacLaine and Christopher Plummer. The film, set and filmed in New Orleans, is an English-language remake of the 2005 Spanish-Argentinian film of the same name.
Plot
The recently widowed, 80-year-old Fred Barcroft is moved by his daughter, against his will, into an apartment in New Orleans, next door to 74-year-old Elsa Hayes. Fred has become embittered, considers himself a realist, but spends most of his time lying down. Elsa is a flighty, vivacious romanticist who dreams of “the sweet life in Rome,” as lived by Anita Ekberg in the 1961 film La Dolce Vita. Despite their opposite temperaments and outlooks on life, they fall in love.
Elsa coaxes Fred out of his shell but tries his patience by telling him several lies about herself. She claims to be a widow and hides her severe kidney disease, which requires dialysis. Fred doesn’t know whether or not to believe Elsa’s claim that Pablo Picasso made a painting of her. She says that she has it in a safe, for which she has misplaced the key.
Erika Alexander plays the aide Laverne, who regularly cares for Fred. As she sees him daily, she provides a lively counterpoint and commentary on his developing relationship with Elsa.
When Fred learns from his doctor friend John that Elsa is probably dying, he takes her to Rome to fulfill her dream of wading (like Ekberg) in the Trevi Fountain. He chooses this rather than investing in his son-in-law’s dubious business venture. After Elsa dies, her son opens her safe and gives Fred the painting by Picasso, which Elsa bequeathed to him.
Cast
Shirley MacLaine as Elsa Hayes
Christopher Plummer as Fred Barcroft
Marcia Gay Harden as Lydia, Fred’s daughter
Chris Noth as Jack, Lydia’s husband
Jared Gilman as Michael, Fred’s grandson
Scott Bakula as Raymond Hayes, Elsa’s eldest son
Deanna Meske as Laura Hayes, Raymond’s wife
McCartney Bisgard as Carla Hayes
Erika Alexander as Laverne
Reg Rogers as Alec Hayes, Elsa’s youngest son
George Segal as John, Fred’s doctor and friend
James Brolin as Max Hayes, Elsa’s estranged husband
Wendell Pierce as Armande, the building superintendent
Osvaldo Ríos as Doctor
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