Late Bloomers

Late Bloomers is one of those films whose trailer is misleading. The film is darker than what I expected from it's preview.

Isabella Rossellini and William Hurt are a couple entering an age of uncertainty, more precisely they are beginning to feel their age but for different reasons. Rosselinni's character is about to turn 60 and she is worried by a loss of memory which causes her to fear the onset of Alzheimers. Hurt has just received a major professional award which Rossellini points out effectively signals that his career is past rather than ahead of him.

Rossellini's reaction is to over react by undergoing scans, purchasing telephones with large buttons for seniors and installing hospital style beds in the couple's apartment. Hurt counter reacts by moving closer to the world of his youthful co-workers.

What I liked most about this film is it's European stylishness. There were some clever scenes that subtly illustrate generation gaps, one of the best being when Rossellini goes to a charity to offer herself as a volunteer. She encounters a hip young executive full of the current business jargon for her young staff but who slows her speech and speaks loudly to the older volunteers as though addressing a group of simpletons.

What I didn't like is that the film miscalculates the age issue with these characters. In the film Rosselinni is about to turn 60 and whilst the age of Hurt's character is never revealed it is safe to assume he is about the same age. In real life Rossellinni really is about to turn 60 (this June, in fact) and Hurt turns 62 next month. I am older than both - not much older, but older nonetheless - and despite some memory loss of my own have not yet reached the level of angst about ageing as is represented here. My friends of a similar generation all feel blissfully youthful too. Maybe we are lucky.

There are a couple of nice cameos from Joanna Lumley and Leslie Phillips. The latter in real life is about to turn 88 and his appearance is particularly spritely.