The China Mail - Miriam Margolyes tackles aging in Oscar-nominated short

So when she was offered a script by a first-time writer-director that tackles aging and loneliness, she jumped at it.

"I knew this was good," she told AFP of the Oscar-nominated short film "A Friend of Dorothy."

"The truth, the emotion is real, the drama is not forced. It's very organic. So I just thought: 'I want this'."

The 20-minute piece, which also stars Stephen Fry, is a delightful meditation on the importance of connecting with another human being -- across generations and races.

Dorothy -- like Margolyes still razor sharp, but with a body that she says is failing her -- lives alone in a rambling London house.

One afternoon, the young J.J. rings her doorbell to ask for his ball back after kicking it into her garden.

The ball is quickly forgotten when J.J. (Alistair Nwachukwu) discovers her vast collection of plays, from which she encourages him to read aloud.

Their unlikely friendship is cast when she divines his -- presumably unacknowledged -- homosexuality, along with his obvious talent for acting.

In what become daily visits, the friendship blossoms and the two tearfully understand that they finally feel "seen."

- 'Simple story' -

Dorothy's life -- her husband long dead, her son living on the other side of the world and a grandson absorbed by making money -- is sadly nothing unusual, the actress told AFP.

"The predicament of an old lady alone is not unique," said Margolyes, a BAFTA winner for her role in Martin Scorsese's "The Age of Innocence."

"Unfortunately, so many millions of old people are shipwrecked alone.

"And we're cut off by technology. It doesn't help us to reach each other -- it divides us."

Writer-director Lee Knight has the pair forge their connection through the very analog practice of reading aloud from playscripts.

"They come to each other in a time where they need each other, and they're lonely in their own way," Knight told AFP.

"He's lonely; he hasn't found his people, and she's lonely too. It's a simple story, but we need these stories now more than ever."

For Knight, getting Margolyes -- a fixture on British television, a stalwart of the theater for decades and Professor Sprout in the "Harry Potter" movies -- was non-negotiable.

"I just knew there was no one else to play it," he said. "I wrote it very much for her, and then I never, ever dreamt that I'd get her to do it."

The pair -- generations apart -- form something of an affectionate parallel with the characters of "A Friend of Dorothy."

During an AFP interview in Beverly Hills, they frequently clasp hands and talk over each other.

At one point, she good-humoredly tells him off for his imprecise language as he responds to a journalist's question.

"You mustn't say, 'Very, very unique'; 'unique' is enough," she chides him, adding with a laugh: "I'm just bossy."

"Listen, this is the person you want to lift your text off the page," chuckles Knight.

The Oscars take place on March 15 in Hollywood.

X.Gu--ThChM