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While
We’re Young deals with the time when aging starts to get
personal—personally meaningful.
Josh (Stiller) and Cornelia (Watts) are there and get side-tracked by a
younger couple, Jamie (Driver) and Darby (Seyfried) whose lives seem so
exciting, unlike another couple whom they’ve been friends with for years, who
just had a baby. Josh and Cornelia
discuss how free they feel and lucky to start hanging out with the younger set
interested in so many things—hip hop,
mystical evenings with a shaman, bicycling, woodwork, music on vinyl, and so
on. Best of all, it seems, Jamie
aspires to be a documentarian just like Josh and his famous father-in-law
Leslie Breitbart (Grodin).
Josh has always preferred to work alone, but
after exposure to Jamie’s apparent generosity, he attempts to be more
collaborative, and they embark on a joint project, and Josh is forced to
introduce Jamie to Breitbart. Josh
has always rejected his father-in-law’s attempts to advise him out of sheer
determination to make his career his own.
Jamie has no such qualms; he freely borrows from others, charmingly
pulling them into his circle, and making his way toward the top.
Ever so gradually, it dawns on Josh what is
happening, and he makes a scene at an inappropriate time, thinking that when he
“exposes” Jamie everyone will feel just as he does. It’s a crushing moment when it becomes obvious that no one
sees anything wrong with what Jamie has done/is doing, and that even Cornelia
sees him as overly suspicious. She
loves her husband, and this puts her in a bind, which she handles beautifully.
In this sensitive part of the drama, Noah
Baumbach, the writer/director, seems to be working through issues in his own
mind about the nature of truth and films, particularly documentaries. How does the filmmaker walk that fine
line between being strictly truthful and ensuring that a film will be
interesting, even entertaining?
Does it matter if the truth is hedged a bit or a lot if the point of the
film is really about something else?
He does make sure that the Josh character
develops more insight into himself and others as a result of this painful
experience, and by the end seems to be setting himself on a much more relaxed
journey through life.
Stiller and Driver have the meatier roles and play
them very well. I was sorry that
the characters for the two main actresses, Watts and Seyfried, were written
primarily as support for their husbands.
They are both highly talented and skilled, and it seems a waste to have
them in such lackluster roles, although as usual their fine acting shows
through. Charles Grodin and Peter
Yarrow in cameo roles demonstrate that age has its privileges, including professional seasoning.
James Murphy’s score and soundtrack are truly
enjoyable accompaniments to the film, particularly in its perfect pairing of
the drama with sound in so many scenes.
Overall, this is a fine update in Noah
Baumbach’s career; I think his finest yet.
The best of Baumbach.
Grade: B By Donna
R. Copeland
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