Week 14: While We're Young

Director: Noah Baumbach

Writer: Noah Baumbach

Seen: Friday 3rd April 2015

Venue: IMC Galway

Snacks: Ben & Jerrys clever cookies & phish food

Mood: Eggcellent

Director Noah Baumbach has made several films that I am very fond of the darkly funny ‘Greenberg’ (2010) also starring Ben Stiller and the delightfully quirky ‘Frances Ha’ (2012) - which if you haven’t seen make it your business to do so!! After a dry couple of weeks film wise I was very much looking forward to seeing Baumbach’s latest offering ‘While We’re Young’.

Starring Ben Stiller and Naomi Watts as the middle aged,childless Cornelia & Josh whose lives are knocked sideways when life seems to catch up with them, their contemporaries are all parents, they do not know where they fit any more and they certainly don't want to admit to themselves that they are getting older. It is at this time of uncertainty in amidst the cries from their friends of ‘but you would make great parents’ that they meet young hipsters Jamie & Derby, played to perfection by Adam Driver & Amanda Seyfried.

Jamie & Derby are young, vibrant and full of hope, they represent everything that is great about being young. Cornelia & Josh are soon hooked by their bohemian lifestyle of ice cream making, home made furniture and listening to 80’s classics on vinyl.

Of course things inevitably turn sour. Ben Stiller's character Josh is a documentary film maker who has produced one great film and has for the last 8 years been trying to create his second one, it has completely consumed him until Jamie comes along and literally sweeps him off his feet. However, all is not as it seems and the relationships disintegrate as quickly as they were formed.

This is mainly a film about growing older, the acceptance and realisation of that. There is another theme running through the film about how film makers, especially documentary film makers can manipulate their audience to make a better overall ‘experience’ and whether this is right or not BUT it kinda fell short for me as I didn’t feel a conclusion was met.

There is also one MAJOR thing at the end of film which really didn’t gel with me, I can't reveal this as it would be considered a ‘spoiler’ but suffice to say I thought it was at odds with certain other parts of the film.

Overall this was a really enjoyable film, a lot of ‘laugh out loud’ moments and some great acting. I didn't enjoy it half as much as the aforementioned Baumbach films but it is still very good mainly because of superb performances from all involved, special mentions to Ben Stiller (I think he really has found his niche here) and the quirky weirdness of Adam Driver.