Youth - B

Rated R, 118 minutes


Michael Caine and Harvey Keitel

"Youth" is about old people. Specifically old people longing for their youth. Handsomely filled, well-acted but uneven and flawed, "Youth" strikes a compelling chord about what it's like to grow older. The movie is about two longtime friends vacationing in the Swiss Alps: Fred (Oscar-winner Michael Caine), an acclaimed composer and conductor, who brings along his daughter and assistant Lena (Oscar-winner Rachel Weisz) and best friend Mick (Harvey Keitel), a renowned filmmaker struggling to make a comeback with his upcoming film. While Mick scrambles to finish the screenplay for what he imagines will be his last important film, Fred has no intention of resuming his musical career. The two men reflect on their past, each finding that some of the most important experiences can come later in life. Directed and written by Paolo Sorrentino of the Oscar-winning foreign language film "The Great Beauty" (2013), "Youth" is an enchanting, sometimes poignant, other times odd portrait of growing older gracefully; when it veers off into some unusual subplots it doesn't work as well, but screen legends Caine and Keitel have a warm chemistry that lights up the film. The movie's reflective moments can be ones of great beauty, then enter some odd, quirky characters, such as Paul Dano's struggling actor, Lena's cheating husband (and Mick's son) (Ed Stoppard) or Mick's chatty screenwriting friends, and it tends to throw the movie off a bit; it also falters when screen veteran Jane Fonda sweeps in near the end in a campy, biting cameo - if she gets an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress, which this is being buzzed for, it will be undeserved. The ending is dark, brave and somewhat beautiful, and Fred's original piece, "Simple Songs," written specifically for the movie by Grammy-winning musician David Lang, is a lovely coda to the story and definitely worth an Oscar nomination. "Youth" is worth seeing, mainly for the chemistry from Caine and Keitel.