Youth (2015)
R
3.5 Stars out of 5
Director/Writer Paolo
Sorrentino Cinematography Luca Bigazzi
Music David Lang
Michael Caine Fred Ballinger
Paul Dano Jimmy Tree
Jane Fonda Brenda Morel
Harvey Keitel Mick Boyle
Rachel Weisz Lena Ballinger
“Keep true to the dreams of your youth.” Friedrich Schiller
“All the
world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and
their entrances, And one man in his time plays many parts, His acts being seven
ages.”
Wm.
Shakespeare, As you like it (Act II, Scene II)
An American film goer raised as we have been on Hollywood
endings might have hoped/expected that the two lead characters, Fred (Michael
Caine) and Mick (Harvey Keitel) when they reached their personal endings would
have gained some wisdom, or at least some perspective beyond the narrow purview
of their own lives; but this movie would leave one largely disappointed in that
respect. I suppose there is verisimilitude in writing two such self-focused
characters, inasmuch as most of us suffer from the same malaise. Still…it would
have been nice to have one character, even a minor one display a little
knowingness about life and where each one of us fits into it – surely, such
people exist? Instead, the viewer is treated to two protagonists speaking constantly
in platitudes, platitudes that carry the appearance of wisdom but are actually simply
banalities designed to pass from one of life’s minor moments to the next.
This move/play is staged in an exclusive Swiss resort, high
in the Alps. It is peopled by guests that largely tend to the very aged, and
certainly to the very wealthy. Music fills this stage and is used marvelously
in the opening and closing scenes – in fact, these two scenes alone are worth
watching the movie, most especially the moving operatic singing of Sumi Jo
coupled with the artistic camera-work covering her performance at the movie’s
end. The camera-work directed by long time Sorrentino collaborator, Luca
Bigazzi is simply brilliant. Bigazzi under Sorrentino’s direction takes the
camera from facial close-ups framed by significant background scenery to
classic cinematic “mis en scène” of juxtaposition - consider well the two aged
men in the pool staring in amazement at a nude Miss Universe (Mădălina Diana Ghenea) as she enters the pool, completely
oblivious of their presence, let alone their stares (see a family version of this scene below). Added to these scenes are camera
shots of various guests as if they were simply (and nothing more) “still life
paintings”, and also the grand exterior shots of “heavenly” views of the skies
as backdrops to the characters that are so close to entering Heaven in a more
real sense.
Fred is the true
master of these platitudes and metaphors, despite the fact that at one point he
will label Mick as the “magician of metaphors”. It is really Fred that for the
most part spouts non-stop metaphors of “wisdom”. He will pass through what’s left of his life
commenting in meaningless sayings, meant to pass as his learned wisdom, or
maybe to cover up his hidden pain. This mindless commentary is itself (cinematically
speaking) Sorrentino’s metaphor for the way we live our lives, hardly differing
from an actor reciting his lines. He adds to this message by having Mick guide
a group of his writers working on a new movie starring Jane Fonda (oops, aged
Marilyn Monroe stand-in, Brenda Morel). These self-important little writers will
as characters mouth their suggestions to Mick for ending his as yet un-finished
play. Each one is clearly written by Sorrentino as an archetypical character:
the intellectual writer, the funny writer, the female writer, the writer in
love. They are all so shallow, it is painful watching them speak lines in the
movie. And how does Mick finally end his movie? Well with a melodramatic death
that happens off-stage is all I’ll say, but it does provide one of the movie’s
two twists. However, the twists are not the point, it is actually the manner in
which each of the characters in the movie play people that are playing
characters in real life (if that tortured sentence makes any sense).
The weakness of
Sorrentino’s movie is at times one of its strengths, and that is the style he
has chosen to employ throughout the movie. It seems clear that minus the circus
props and characters, Sorrentino reaches at certain times for a very
Fellini-like feeling. He uses this very effectively on two occasions: when he
has Fred, wandering in his thoughts and fading memory, crossing a narrow bridge
above a large pool, and where Fred must pass closely to the statuesque Miss
Universe. It goes without saying the rising waters reflect not just his physical
image but more closely Fred’s sense that he is drowning; he’s losing it. The
second occasion is a comparable scene where an almost equally confused Mick (following
his argument with his diva Brenda and where Mick proclaims his own identity as
a brilliant director of women) sees arrayed on a hillside every woman he has ever
directed. They are all there, even the previously recalcitrant Brenda, though now
lacking the 1 inch thick shellac of make-up he last saw her in. These were good
uses of surrealism, but Sorrentino over-does it. The sense of surrealism
suffuses the entire movie. For example, what is the purpose of having Paul Dano
dress as an octogenarian Hitler, except to make a pointless point about shock
value; or maybe to allow Dano his moment in this movie to prove how good an
actor he is?
Everything else
aside, the acting is the best reason to see this movie. For the most part, professional
critical attention has focused on Caine, and with good reason. Long lauded as
one of the best actors we have had for the past 40 years or so (ever since
“Alfie”, 1966), Caine has shown time and again how capable he is of dissolving
into his chosen character. Additionally, Fonda and Dano also have their big
emotional scenes, and both do an excellent job. But the highest movie plaudits
for this movie belong to Weisz: her scene of her anguish at her husband’s
infidelity, her anger at Fred for his distance during her childhood, and most
subtly her remorse as her father finally explains his refusal to direct an
orchestra any more in his most famous piece, Simple Song. Her range of emotions
in her acting is just awesome.
In the final
analysis, this movie is most definitely not for everyone. The over-use of
surrealism is the only reason I do not give this movie a perfect score. Almost
everything else screams for such a score: clever imagery, great music and cinematography,
some of the year’s best acting (the lack of Oscar nominations notwithstanding),
and finally the clever way Sorrentino weaves two important parts of life as
themes into the story. Even if the deeper point of identity is ignored in this
film’s narrative, it is a compelling movie just for the depicted views of how
each of us looks at ourselves in life’s mirror. This is definitely a movie for
adults eager for a story about difficult subjects and told in a manner that
demands thoughtful appreciation from the audience.
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