The past few years have been been kind to actors “of a certain age” and audiences who are interested in smart films about people in late middle age to the senior years. Since 2012, Amour won an Oscar for Best Foreign Language film, Enough Said showed us the highs and lows of dating in your 50s, and a pair of musical dramedies – Quartet and Unfinished Song – delighted us. Here are four new films that celebrate life beyond 50.
Le Week-End stars Jim Broadbent and Lindsay Duncan as Nick and Meg, a British couple who go to Paris for a second honeymoon. If it sounds trite, be warned that it is not; although the script is funny and suffused with razor sharp wit, it’s ultimately a film about a couple who realize their marriage has real, intractable problems that may not be solved with a breezy weekend in the City of Light.
Old Goats, directed by Taylor Guterson (son of author David Guterson) for $5,000 and filmed in Seattle, features Britt, Bob and Gail, three non-actors playing fictionalized versions of themselves. They deal with issues many men in their later years face – romance when you’re out of practice, retirement and the ensuing boredom, looking back on your life with pride and regret – and although they’re curmudgeons, their affection for each other is heartwarming.
Still Mine is a moving portrait of a couple growing older. Craig (James Cromwell) and Irene (Geneviève Bujold) are a long married couple in rural New Brunswick whose lives are turned upside down when Irene starts to develop dementia. Craig’s solution is to build a smaller house on their land on his own terms, only to find it held up by bureaucratic red tape. This portrayal of a fiercely independent couple grappling with forces beyond their control is bittersweet, but ultimately uplifting.
Gloria stars Paulina García as a free-spirited woman looking for love in the nightclubs of Santiago, Chile. She meets a retired naval officer and they embark on a passionate affair, which is interrupted by undisclosed truths about their relationship. Critics have lauded the film – with a rare 99% score on Rotten Tomatoes – for its authentic depiction of a 58-year-old woman who makes mistakes yet is fearless and full of life, which is all too rare in Hollywood. This Spanish language import is worth your while, even if subtitles aren’t your thing.
Leave a Comment