Age-Defying Movies
Movie makers tend to ignore older actors, particularly women. It’s a shame because some of the funniest and most moving films feature actors with experience. Here is our pick of some of the best.
The Old Man & The Gun (2018)
Robert Redford makes his final screen appearance before retirement in David Lowery’s gently paced crime caper – a (mostly) true story, which is also an unabashed valentine to the charismatic leading man. Photographed in lustrous close-up, Redford beguiles us with each glance into camera as real-life bank robber Forrest Tucker, who ran rings around the authorities and escaped from San Quentin State Prison in a canoe.
The script stages a couple of tense robberies with aplomb but characterisation always take priority and there is a lovely scene of verbal to and fro between Redford and co-star Casey Affleck in the corridor of a roadside diner. Lowery’s film is the cinematic equivalent of a warm hug: comforting, heartfelt and undeniably pleasurable.
The Company You Keep (2012)
Susan Sarandon stars as a housewife who, after 30 years of living under an assumed identity, turns herself into the FBI over her part in an ill-fated robbery carried out by an underground militant group. Her story prompts a young journalist (Shia LaBeouf) to do some further digging, which leads him to discover that respected lawyer Jim (Redford) was also once part of the cell. Realising he is now a wanted man and a murder suspect, Jim goes on the run to find Mimi (Julie Christie), the woman who can clear his name.
It’s not the most exciting thriller, but it’s thoughtful and well-acted by the great cast.
Gran Torino (2008)
Walt (Clint Eastwood) is a lonely, cantankerous widower who has grown estranged from his grasping family and doesn’t particularly like any of his immigrant neighbours either. However, that all changes when the Korean teenager from next door tries to steal Walt’s beloved Gran Torino car.
Walt decides to take the youngster under his wing, and ends up bonding with the entire family – so when they are threatened by a street gang, he decides to step in. Eastwood, who also directs, is simply brilliant as the grizzled, misanthropic Walt, and manages to make this drama touching, as well as unexpectedly funny. The strong supporting cast includes Christopher Carley and BeeVang.
Quartet (2012)
Dustin Hoffman goes behind the camera to direct an impressive British cast in this comedy drama. Run with a gentle yet firm touch by on-staff medic Dr Lucy Cogan (Sheridan Smith), retirement home Beecham House heaves with eccentrics, including luvvie Cedric (Michael Gambon), who masterminds the annual fundraising concert attended by staff and wealthy donors. Three of the residents – Reginald (Tom Courtenay), Wilf (Billy Connolly) and Cissy (Pauline Collins) – once performed together as a celebrated quartet. The unexpected arrival of the group’s fourth member, Reg’s ex-wife Jean (Maggie Smith), sends shockwaves through Beecham House. Once Jean adjusts to the gentle ebb and flow of daily life at the home and rebuilds bridges that were burnt to a cinder, she rediscovers her passion for performance.
The Last Shift (2020)
After 38 years of dedicated service, Stanley (Richard Jenkins) prepares to retire from the overnight shift at Oscar’s Chicken & Fish drive-thru in Albion, Michigan. He has saved up money to move back home and take care of his mother, who has dementia.
Before Stanley bids farewell to the job, the veteran must train his replacement: a young father called Jevon (Shane Paul McGhie) on probation for defacing city monuments and resisting arrest. The Last Shift is a heartfelt drama, which sets up the two central characters as culturally divided opponents destined to learn valuable life lessons in each other’s company. The always watchable Jenkins imbues his graveyard shift stalwart with genuine warmth, gelling pleasingly with McGhie’s rebel character.
Edie (2017)
Sheila Hancock, at the grand old age of 87, remains one of the nation’s finest actors.
She’s on top form in this drama. She’s obviously fitter than many people half her age, because here, she plays Edith Moore, a feisty, uncompromising eighty-something with a dream – to take a walking trip in the Scottish Highlands, something her father had planned for them both to do many moons ago.
Unfortunately, her difficult and controlling husband George refused to let her go, but following his recent death, she decides to revisit the idea, only this time, her daughter Nancy tries to stand in her way – she thinks her mother should be thinking about retirement homes, not hiking equipment.
The Swimmer (1968)
These days, mention Burt Lancaster and chances are an image of a typically all- American beefcake will spring to mind.
However, as an actor, he was far more than simply a guy who looked good without his shirt on – consider his roles in The Birdman of Alcatraz, Sweet Smell of Success and Elmer Gantry, and you get the idea. Lancaster is also incredibly moving in this fascinating, underrated film – and he gets to show off his physique, which was still impressive at the age of 55.
He plays a seemingly ordinary suburban guy who swims home from work one hot afternoon via his neighbours’ swimming pools, with each of them evoking people and events from his past. The movie went on to inspire Michael Douglas’ acclaimed 1993 offering, Falling Down.