After the sudden death of his wife Angela from an aneurysm, 88-year-old Peter Chapman (“Grandad”) is diagnosed with dementia and told he must move into residential care. Proud, stubborn, and emotionally closed off, he refuses, until his estranged 21-year-old grandson, Will, is sent to force him to pack. The two haven’t seen each other in years.

 

Will is a directionless layabout living off his late mother’s inheritance. He’s more interested in getting a girlfriend than rebuilding any family ties. But with no one else to turn to, the two men find themselves reluctantly stuck together, at the worst possible time.

 

Gradually, with the aid of bacon rolls and Home Alone 2, they begin to reconnect and form a fragile bond, which only blossoms when Grandad agrees to help Will with his hopeless romantic pursuits. As Will improves his grammar, learns to dance, and awkwardly chats up residents for practice, he starts to grow into someone his grandfather might truly admire. However, just as Will finally begins to mature, Peter’s memory starts to fade. His decline accelerates, and the roles between them begin to shift.

 

Set against the fading warmth of a London winter, Poppy Place is a quippy, melancholic comedy about two men. One nearing the end, the other only just beginning.