Category: Ageism in Film

Film Blog 3

Ageism in Film #10 – What I’ve Learned

Danny ElliottAgeism

“My four and a half years at Age UK London have indeed gone by in the blink of an eye. McCartney claims that life does too. Ethel & Ernest, and many of the other films I’ve seen this year, showed me that he’s right. We’re all ageing. I’ll be 30 in just over a month. Turning 50, 60, 70, 80 or 90 feels like a lifetime away. But it’s only the blink of an eye. After all, just yesterday George and I chatted about the fact that we still think of 1998 as being ‘only the other year’!

Working for Age UK London has, genuinely, taught me that all of us have to fight for older people. ”

Over the last year Danny Elliott has been writing a blog series called Ageism in Film. In his final article he reflects on what he’s learned about film and the age sector.

grace and frankie

Ageism in Film #9 – Grace and Frankie

Danny ElliottAgeism in Film

Grace and Robert are married to each other, as are Frankie and Sol. Robert and Sol are business partners, in a law firm in San Diego, while Grace and Frankie have never particularly gelled. They’re thrown together when Robert and Sol reveal they’re in love, have been having an affair for years, and are leaving their wives for each other.

The 39 episodes so far have looked at a whole range of issues. It’s also relevant as Pride month draws to a close to be looking at a show that is about older LGBT* people, and features a prominent LGBT* actress (Lily Tomlin).

Robert and Sol were scared of ‘going public’ with their relationship for many years. Now, some of that has to do with the fact they’re already married and didn’t want to hurt their wives more than they already had, but far too many older men and women felt forced into repressing their feelings for far too long.

As Pride Month closes, Danny Elliott runs the rule over Grace and Frankie for Age UK London’s monthly series on Ageism in Film.

Harry Brown

Ageism in Film #8 – Harry Brown

Danny ElliottAgeism

“I first watched Harry Brown seven years ago. Before viewing it again this week my memory was of some form of horrific, vigilante buddy-movie starring Michael Caine and Filch from Harry Potter. Time had clearly faded the reality of what the film was about, if not the essence; though a ‘buddy-movie’ this is not!”

In the eighth edition of our monthly series on ageing in film, Danny Elliott discusses isolation and loss of community in the vigilante thriller Harry Brown.

Ageing and Film #7 – Esio Trot

George HarveyAgeism in Film

It’s always difficult to know where you stand with Roald Dahl. Whenever you pick up a book or put on a film that the great storyteller has written, it’s often hard to predict what comes next. Will it feature the heart-warming resilience of Matilda? Perhaps we’ll delve into a mysterious adventure akin to The BFG? Or maybe the bad-taste debauchery of My Uncle Oswald will surface? Whatever happens, it’s certainly very hard to second guess the mind of Mr Dahl.

Let’s see what Esio Trot has to offer…

Still Game

Ageism and Film #6 – Still Game

Danny ElliottAgeism in Film

My favourite Christmas presents are films and TV series. So much so, that I reserve a free night in January or February for my viewing pleasure. The 2016 offerings included ‘The Beatles: Eight Days a Week’ (well worth watching) and ‘Supersonic’, which I’ve yet to get round to – a real musical theme for some reason.

On opening both of these, I was instantly delighted. Here were two documentaries I was looking forward to watching, and had been well aware of even before their release in cinemas.

I opened one more box set on Christmas Day, and was surprised to find I’d never heard of it: Still Game, A BBC Scotland comedy created by Ford Kiernan and Greg Hemphill. Here’s why it’s such a good watch…

Ageism in Film #5 – Nebraska

Danny ElliottAgeism

The plot itself is simple. Woodrow T. Grant (Bruce Dern) gets a letter that says he’s won $1,000,000 and decides to go and claim his prize. There are only a couple of problems. Firstly, he lives in Montana, and needs to get to Nebraska. The trip is about 800 miles, but he has had his drivers’ license revoked.

The second problem is that the letter is a scam.

Ageism in Film #3 – Up

George HarveyAgeism in Film

I’ve yet to meet anyone who doesn’t like the film Up. Even I, as a curmudgeon who usually rejects my friends’ love of the bright and shiny world of Disney, had my heart melted by this movie.

Now, it must be said, I’m not entirely sure why Up manages to strike a chord while so many other animated films fall flat. At a guess, it’s a mix of simple – yet effective – storytelling, vibrant visuals, and a script that manages to elicit laughs from viewers of all ages. Which is no mean feat.

Ageism in Film #2 – Still Alice

Danny ElliottAgeism in Film

Welcome to the second edition of our new monthly series on ageing in film. This month Danny Elliott studies Still Alice and questions how age can affect our reaction to tragedy. You can also read last month’s article here. Age UK London works with and for the 2.2 million people aged 50+ in London. The issues faced by a 50 year old may be very different from that of an 85 year old; some of the work we do includes helping people plan for the future, alongside offering support for those re-entering employment or retraining for a new role. That ‘lower age limit’ […]

Ageism in Film #1 – The Lady in the Van

Danny ElliottAgeism in Film

Welcome to the first edition of our new monthly series on ageism in film. This week Danny Elliott subjects The Lady in the Van to Peter Bradshaw’s Bechdel Test for Ageism. Although Peter Bradshaw points out that older women are the social group that find it hardest to come by major roles,  the first film I’m going to look at stars, and is dominated by, Dame Maggie Smith. The 81 year old played Miss Shepherd in ‘The Lady in the Van’, 16 years after she first performed the role on stage in Alan Bennett’s play of the same name. Maggie Smith is a […]