While We’re Young (2015) (English Language)

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Review

97min

Cast: Ben Stiller, Adam Driver, Naomi Watts…and more

Ben Stiller and Naomi Watts star as a middle-aged New York couple whose predictable and mundane life is turned upside down when they meet a charming young couple who make them question the personal and professional decisions they’ve taken in their lives, as events unfold we learn whether the grass really is greener on the other side in a typically charming and reflective comedy/drama from writer/director Noah Baumbach.

‘While We’re Young’ is essentially a film about how “grown-ups” deal with our obsession with youth both physically and emotionally as we age in an increasingly youth-centric world, the film deals with the subject in a refreshingly frank and sometimes uncomfortably honest way that is both heartfelt and funny.

In what seems like Baumbach’s most broadly appealing work to date there is a an interesting appraisal of the currently highly valued culture of instant gratification and we can’t help but welcome the depiction of the transient and sometimes pompous nature of “youth culture”, in this case embodied by the “Hipster” phenomenon and it’s undeclared ethos of the appropriation and regurgitation of old trends and cultures with pretentious abandon.

Despite this ‘While We’re Young’ is not overly judgmental either way and we do take a message away that it’s ok to try and breach the divide between young and old but there will always naturally be one and that’s Ok, remember the young can’t relate to being middle-aged but we were all young once so a little more understanding would be ideal.

By depicting virtually all the main characters as filmmakers in the Movie we can’t help but think that ‘While We’re Young’ might be a semi-autobiographical piece of work by Noah Baumbach or at least another typically self-referential reflective drama from him, indeed all the performances in the film are charming and honest which is handy as the film works as a character piece much more than a compelling traditional story.

A film primarily for people over 30 about chances lost and unfulfilled potential, ‘While We’re Young’ is a captivating and honest little film that focuses on both the things we give up and gain as we grow older and does so with charm and humour throughout.

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Similar films you may like (Home Video)

The Squid and the Whale (2005)

Semi-autobiographical comedy/drama from writer/director Noah Baumbach about the poignant story of two boys growing up in 1980’s New York while dealing with the profound effects of their parents’ divorce.

Directed by Noah Baumbach and starring Jesse Eisenberg, Jeff Daniels and Laura Linney among others.