Director: Noah Baumbach
Starring: Ben Stiller, Naomi Watts, Adam Driver, Amanda Seyfried
Certificate: 15
Running Time: 94 minutes
Special Features: The Cast / Working with director Noah Baumbach / Generation Tech / Working with Charles Grodin / Hip-Hop Class / Theatrical Trailer
Noah Baumbach’s While We’re Young bridges the gap between the 20-something movies where people try and find ‘themselves’ and wraps it into the world of Judd Apatow’s This Is 40 but, saying that, still holds all the unique quirks and intelligence of Baumbach’s previous work. With a smart cast of Ben Stiller, Naomi Watts, Adam Driver, Amanda Seyfried and Charles Grodin, here you find an honest and entertaining exploration of what it feels like to grow older without dragging its desires in cliché.
Josh (Stiller) and Cornelia (Watts) are our happy middle-aged couple, whatever that age is, who have noticed everyone around them is settling down, having kids and they’re not entirely convinced they want to do the same or should be. When they meet positive young things Jamie (Driver) and Darby (Seyfried), they’re reintroduced to the spontaneity they consider they’re lacking in their lives and are willingly pulled into their free-spirited world.
What I particularly like about While We’re Young is how I connect to the two main characters played by Stiller and Watts. While I’ve not explicitly hit their age bracket, my life is certainly surrounded by friends getting older, having kids and asking when you’re going to do the same but my question is: what if that’s not a decision we (My other half and I) want to make or, on the other side, why isn’t it ordinary to make the decision not to. There’s untold pressure to have kids once you approach a certain age and it almost becomes a choice other people feel they can make. Fascinatingly, the film opens up that question and practically reminds you to just enjoy life, make any decision and be proud of whatever you settle on.
Saying all this, While We’re Young doesn’t push you towards certain decisions nor specifically suggest anything as it’s rounded off by an underlying truth that most of us are making it up as we go along. This might seem like a bizarre blurt of honesty but let’s face it – We all get different breaks in life and most of us just go along and see what happens. If unquestionable control is your thing, you might not identify with the underlying reality of what you’ll be watching but if you’re from any generation who questions whatever you’re doing is right or wrong, then you’ll love a whole host of aspects. On top of this, the authentic ensemble cast offers an inspiring sincerity to the screen that makes it a film I highly recommend to all.
While We’re Young is released on Blu-ray and DVD on 27th July. Pre-order here.
