La grande bellezza 2.0?

Rating: 6/10 (29 December 2015)

"Youth" is a movie that was released very recently and was written and directed by Paolo Sorrentino. He did some television and short film work since his Oscar win for "La grande bellezza", but this one here is his return to full feature films. It runs for slightly over 2 hours, slightly under without the closing credits and stars Michael Caine as the main character. With people like Harvey Keitel, Rachel Weisz, Paul Dano and Jane Fonda, this film is a lot more Hollywood heavy than everything he has done before except maybe "This Must Be the Place". The title "Youth" is certainly an ironic one as this film, just like his previous project, is a lot about aging and life in its last chapter. This should come as no surprise as Caine is in his 80s and Keitel in the second half of his 70s.
All in all, this film was pretty much what I expected. Caine was good from start to finish and I usually like him. Keitel I am usually not so big on and maybe that is also why I found his story not too interesting. As a whole, the film has some moments during which it drags and it's also on the fine line between artistry and pretense. In my opinion, they could have certainly kept it at around 100 minutes if they had gotten rid off some of the scenes I found rather dragging. Then again, maybe accidentally, they would have cut out some of my favorite scenes and that would have sucked. There were certainly a couple really good moments in here, especially in terms of writing and in terms of Caine's delivery. I liked the scene when he admits that he is only good in terms of music, not in terms of giving essential advice to his daughter. Brutal truth, but there was something pretty raw and authentic to that confession.
Sorrentino always has his very unique take on female characters and how they are perceived through men's eyes. And a character like Weisz' was not there in "The Great Beauty", so it's nice to see Sorrentino trying to develop in new areas. I also liked how the concert was used as a way for Caine in order to deal with the pain of losing his wife, which was certainly still there, but also in a way of saying goodbye and not shutting out this great opportunity because of his loss. There are a couple funny moments, but these are at their best when they are subtle, not really when they are talking about the quantity of their urine that morning. All in all, it is probably a film that will appeal more to older audiences than to younger ones, but by no means it's a must-watch for older audiences or a non-watch for younger ones. Especially Caine fans should check this one out as he, once again, shines in here. However, the awards attention for Jane Fonda (what are you thinking Globes???) is a bit of a joke mildly speaking. Overall, a decent watch and I recommend it.