Old age
isn't for sissies
This
finely acted human comic/tragedy poses all the problems of old
age and dementia yet managing to instill gentle humour into a
sad situation. It pulls no punches and often the unpleasant sides
of aging are all to clearly displayed. May cut close to the bone
for those faced with similar problems.
It opens with a wonderful scene of oldies dancing
out from a row of trees to the tune of “I don’t want
to play in your yard”. The following shots of a seniors
village seem cartoon- like and artificial, concealing an uncomfortable
truth. We’re soon lead into a darker side of life in the
aging community as Lenny Savage (Philip Bosco) causes panic in
his family when he writes a message on the bathroom wall in his
own excrement. Obviously he can no longer be left alone, the time
has come for him to be placed in a nursing home.
Wendy Savage (Laura Linney) his daughter and her
brother Jon (Philip Seymour Hoffman) have to make the decision
of when and where to put the old man. It’s a difficult decision
to make. Wendy’s single and a struggling playwright, reduced
to dismal sexual encounters with a married neighbour when he’s
out supposedly walking the dog. She and her brother are not getting
along well as the film starts.
Jon
is a self absorbed forty something university professor writing
a book on Bertholt Brecht. He’s notably unenthusiastic about
joining his sister in dealing with his decidedly difficult, increasingly
vague father. These two siblings are thrown together in aiding
the old man, discovering much about themselves as they venture
into the depressing world of dementia, nursing homes and beyond.
Both Hoffman (Before The Devil Knows You’re
Dead) and Linney (Breach) give award-deserving performances
as a reluctant team helping their irritable father get through
his life’s crisis. They’re such effective actors,
here playing brilliantly off each other; the shambling hulk of
Hoffman verses the driving force of the energetic perhaps overly
optimistic Linney. Uncomfortable scenes in the café and
the airliner are well handled by the Philip Bosco (Freedomland)
as Lenny. He’s disarmingly convincing in an often confronting
manner.
There’s dismal realism to the nursing homes
depicted, and in fact despite light relief along the way director
Tamara Jenkins (Slums of Beverly Hills) leaves little
to the imagination. Jenkins also wrote the screenplay which is
perhaps autobiographical. It certainly appears to be based on
a serious knowledge of the problems confronting the elderly and
their families. So much of the script rings true. Many will know
people right now faced with the same situation. The director steers
us through with a competent hand, balancing the dispiriting aspects
with a delicate sense of humour.
Clever use of music throughout also helps lift the
mood. The cinematography is equally up to the challenge and maintains
the feel of the story. A noteworthy and commendable film which
will have reverberations for many of the audience. Growing old
is dying young.
John Bale
