Few can construct a film quite as beautifully as Paolo Sorrentino,
whose swelling, swooning The
Great Beauty took home an Oscar just a couple of years ago for Best
Foreign Film. His follow-up Youth is
just as gorgeous; titillating the eyes with an endless array of images that
will dance in the mind. Making only his second English-language effort after
the misguided This Must Be the Place, Sorrentino's loose grip on
American dialogue muddies what are surface examinations of his very familiar
themes: age, regret, beauty, fame. Youth is too mesmerizing to be
completely dismissed, but for all its overtures towards weightiness it's not
the ideas that linger.
Michael Caine, made-up to look nearly
identical to The Great
Beauty's Tony Servillo, plays
retired maestro Fred Ballinger, holed up in a breath-taking Swiss resort with
his somber and recently-separated daughter/assistant, Rachel (Rachel Weisz).
He's there with his director pal Mick Boyle (Harvey Keitel) who is there to
finish a screenplay for what he hopes will be his signature film. The
resort is populated with an array of colorful but ultimately forgettable
characters. Paul Dano is an actor doing research on a mysterious new role that
he hopes will make people forget the part he's famous for. There's also a fat
ex-footballer lounging around the poolside, along with the newly-crowned Miss
Universe. These characters don't get much to do; they're only there to
serve as visual representations of subjects Sorrentino doesn't really want to
explore. Case in point; Lena's husband recently left her for pop star
Paloma faith, who gets the chance to play herself while demeaning everything
about herself in the process. Seriously, she's mocked for her job and her looks
throughout with nary a chance for rebuttal.
There isn't a ton that actually happens to
move the story, such as it is, forward very far. Much of the film consists of
Fred and Mick lounging around discussing their past loves, regrets, and future
prospects. Mick is hopeful about his latest project, but that attitude may be a
big mistake. Fred is occasionally requested by a royal emissary to conduct for
the queen, which he consistently refuses for reasons that prove compelling and
tragic. But the film languishes for far too long with little of note happening,
mainly because its focus is split between these other characters we aren't
interested in. It's best when Kaine, Keitel, and Weisz are center stage where
they can be lavished by DP Luca Bigazzi's camera. Weisz gets one of the
strongest scenes in the film when Lena finally unloads on her father for
basically being a neglectful deadbeat. In her only scene Jane Fonda commands
everything as Mick's muse; pulling no punches with her thoughts on his latest
project. These scenes work mainly because they cut through the remorseful cloud
that seems to hang over everything.
Keeping you completely out of the doldrums
is the witty repartee between Caine and Keitel, two screen veterans who are
clearly enjoying a chance to riff off one another and reflect on the past. And
of course Sorrentino keeps the visual standards high, using the locale as a
consistently breath-taking backdrop. He constructs images of such grace
and beauty they can never truly be forgotten. They'll be recalled later when
least expected, and will probably bring a smile to your face and the sudden
urge to pop Youth in
the Blu-Ray player. The film's final scene, best left undescribed, is one of
those that will resonate even if the whole doesn't.
Rating: 3 out of 5
