Youth **** (2015, Michael Caine, Harvey Keitel, Rachel Weisz, Paul Dano, Jane Fonda) – Movie Review

It’s the 82-year-old Michael Caine’s best role and best piece of serious acting in years, triumphing over risky and weirdly eccentric casting against type as retired classical composer and orchestra conductor Fred Ballinger.

He is enjoying a Swiss mountain spa resort holiday with his daughter (Rachel Weisz) and his film director best friend (Harvey Keitel) in the Alps when he receives a visit for the Queen’s emissary (Alex Macqueen) inviting him to conduct one of his works for Prince Philip’s birthday.

It’s easy to fall for the special, peculiar charms of this supremely quirky and delightfully engaging movie from Italian writer-director Paolo Sorrentino, the 2014 Bafta award-winner of Best Film not in the English Language for The Grand Beauty [La grande bellezza] (2013).

Caine and Keitel form a marvellously entertaining double act, and Caine and Weisz have another entertaining double act as the close father and daughter, and Caine has yet another entertaining double act with Paul Dano as a young Hollywood star at the spa, though it’s Keitel who enjoys the entertaining double act with Jane Fonda as his long-time movie star. It’s probably also Keitel’s best role and best piece of serious acting in years, well within his comfort zone, but pushing the boat out.

Everybody’s great in the movie, and it’s a great thing to be great in. It’s kind of cynical and playful, but at the same time warm and life-affirming. It’s in the same mood as The Grand Beauty so anyone who has seen that will know what to expect. That’s a good trick to pull off. Sorrentino is just middle aged – he’s 45 – but he’s an expert at old people and old age, which for once in the movies aren’t portrayed depressingly or tragically. More heroically, actually. Sweet. Maybe bitter-sweet.

I loved the story, the characters, the situations, the locations and the dialogue, but I also meant to say how brilliantly and imaginatively the movie is shot. Sorrentino sure has an eye for a great image, a bit of grand beauty.

http://derekwinnert.com/la-grande-bellezza-the-great-beauty-film-review/

© Derek Winnert 2015 Movie Review

Check out more reviews on http://derekwinnert.com