The Gerontologist
cite as: Gerontologist, 2016, Vol. 56, No. 2, 368–369
doi:10.1093/geront/gnw043
On Film and Digital
Cinematic Vertigo—and Enjoyable Once You Relax Into It
Jim Vanden Bosch, MA
Terra Nova Films, Chicago, Illinois E-mail: [email protected]
Decision Editor: Helen Q. Kivnick, PhD
Youth (124 min)
Distributed by Fox Searchlight Pictures
Directed by Paolo Sorrentino
Released: December, 2015
Early in this film, a remark from one of its characters
laments the fact that he has become known as an actor
mostly for playing the role of a robot in one particular film.
This remark turns out to be a reflection of the very nature
of the film, Youth. Throughout much of its 2 hours, the film
feels like it could have been made by a robot. The story
line moves along in fits and starts, and the characters often
speak their lines with an isolated demeanor rather than
truly engaging with each other. Approached in the right
way, however, the film can still be a pleasure to watch.
Youth is, in part, about two older artists at a vacation
retreat in the Alps. Mick Boyle (Harvey Keitel) is an older
film director aspiring to make his outgoing masterpiece—
in his words, “a testament” film, titled Life’s Last Days.
Accompanying him at the retreat is a team of younger
script writers working with him to find the right ending
to the film. His longtime friend, Fred Ballinger (Michael
Caine), a music composer, is also at the retreat. Fred recognizes and accepts that his life’s work is finished, and
he seems content to just “be.” Accompanying him is his
daughter, Lena (Rachel Weisz), who also seems to serve as
his part time manager, fielding ongoing requests related to
his long musical career. She regards her father’s contentment as “apathetic.” Fred also has a wife whom he apparently has not seen, according to his disgruntled daughter,
for several years. (Toward the end of the film we accompany him as he visits her in a care facility where she lives
in a catatonic state.)
© The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America.
All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: [email protected].
368
The Gerontologist, 2016, Vol. 56, No. 2
There is so much rich material here to explore, but the
film never gets around to doing this in a deep and cohesive
manner. What we are offered instead is a series of scenes,
often stunning or startling in their own right, but with little
relation to the stories of the main characters. These visuals
are often tangential intrusions that upstage the characters
and interrupt the storyline. Allow me to demonstrate. Miss
Universe slowly waded into the clear pool of water with her
inflated breasts in full view for the older men to observe.
This distracting sentence, although not totally unrelated to
the gist of this film review, is erratic and startling in its lack
of context. This is how most of Youth proceeds.
There are two ongoing narrative plots in Youth, one
for each of the two older main characters. The film tries
to keep both of these story lines spinning while unpredictably cutting away to various isolated scenes and a series of
extraneous characters who are also at the vacation retreat
hotel—characters as diverse as Miss Universe, and a startlingly obese retired soccer star who moves around with
portable oxygen in tow. Although the unsuspecting viewer
is trying to connect these diverse characters and visuals to
some sense of the film’s development, the two main characters in the film continue to reappear with another bit of
their own story. The result of this intercutting between real
characters with genuine stories that are in partial development, and the caricatures that seed the film at unpredictable
times, can produce a sense of filmic vertigo for the viewer.
Still, this might have all worked if the demeanor of the
two main characters were more engaging. Instead, there is
a disturbing sense of disengagement on the part of all the
characters in this film. They mostly speak to, and hear, each
other with detachment. Perhaps this is the intention of the
director, so as to imbue the entire film with a sense of shallowness and nihilism. One of Mick’s closing lines reinforces
this sense when he says to his younger cohorts: “What does
it matter. Animals, plants, humans—we are all just extras.”
Even Mick’s final act of suicidally jumping off the hotel
369
balcony in full view of Fred gets a disengaged look of passive resignation on Fred’s face. This impassivity on the part
of the characters makes it difficult to care about them or to
be engaged in their narratives.
All of this is not to say that the film cannot be enjoyed.
But to do so, you will need to let go of the expectations of a
traditional narrative plot and simply sit back and enjoy the
parade of often unrelated scenes and minor characters as
they are presented to you in their rich colors and compositions. For me, it took a second viewing of the film to come
to that place of detached but pleasurable viewing. But once
you have come to terms with the film’s erratic style, you
can regain your viewing balance and sit back and enjoy the
several scenic diversions—like Fred sitting in the middle of
an alpine meadow conducting the surrounding sounds—
including the bells around the necks of the Swiss cows and
the birds in the trees.
I should note here that Youth has little of importance
to say about the experiences or meanings of aging. It often
falls back on weak and narrow assumptions about the
experiences of growing older (for example, it gives both
older male characters a preoccupation with prostateimpeded peeing).
In the end, the film does actually manage to resolve the
haltingly told narratives of both of its main characters.
In fact, one of the most moving scenes in the entire film
is played out at its end when Fred, contrary to expectation, leads an orchestra and singer in the performance of
one of his better known compositions. This scene, along
with much of the music used throughout the film, is reason
enough to see Youth. And do stay through the long closing credits in order to enjoy the music of composer David
Lang’s Just (After Song of Songs).
So, go ahead. See this film as a unique and pleasurable
viewing experience. Just don’t expect it so say anything
profound about growing older, despite its title and older
characters.