Maggie Smith shines as the rude and eccentric 'Lady in the Van' (B+)

Maggie Smith manages to be rude, defiant, oddly charming and -- for much of the film -- a mystery in The Lady in the Van, the new movie by Nicholas Hytner opening this weekend in Dallas.

Smith plays Miss Shepherd, a homeless woman living in a parked van next to a playwright's home in London's Camden Town neighborhood. Despite her attitude and foul smell, she establishes a strange bond with the playwright (actor and playwright Alan Bennett, played by Alex Jennings), who is too timid to kick her out of his parking space. Eventually, she ends up living at his doorstep for the next 15 years.

Smith's performance as the bizarre old lady, who manages to get help by rejecting it, is the reason to watch this film. Although there is an early insight in the film about the possible reason why she snapped, little is known about her past. Smith, who was nominated for a Golden Globe for this role, is able to reveal fragility even as she is coarse with others.

Meanwhile, Bennett provides a view to his creative process by playing two versions of himself at the same time: "the one living, and the one writing," he says.

The Lady in the Van, written by the real-life Alan Bennett, deals with solitude and how human connections are made.