Here are a few of the best romantic films that explored the angle of love in people who’re past their retirement age.
In the movies, love is frequently connected with youth and novelty. The main character falls in love with a high school crush, a college best friend, or their best friend's boyfriend at their first job. Teenagers and young adults abound in the romance genre, with a smaller subcategory of films devoted to elder couples.
While there are far fewer romantic films that chronicle the love lives of older people, there are many excellent examples, thanks in part to the expertise of older performers in the romantic scene as compared to fresh leads. Along with a level of complexity not seen in high school romances, these adult love stories frequently convey the notion that you don't have to be young to fall in love, try something new, and be happy.
‘Letters To Juliet’
‘Letters To Juliet’ is the epitome of the feeling that it is never too late for genuine love. Sophie, a journalist, abandons her fiancé on their pre-honeymoon in Italy to find old Claire's long-lost love, Lorenzo. While it's entertaining to see Claire's arrogant grandson fall for Sophie on the trip, the gentle adoration shown when Claire and Lorenzo finally reunite, after having lost each other as young adults and had started their own families, is something truly special. It doesn't diminish the love that they both found elsewhere but rather suggests that they are both beautiful in their own ways. Actress Vanessa Redgrave and actor Franco Nero, who play Claire and Lorenzo, also had a similar love story in real life. They met on the sets of the 1967 musical film ‘Camelot’ and later were reunited in 1996. Their real-life story gives this romantic film a special passionate significance.
‘The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel’
In this romantic comedy about retirees flying to what they assume is a beautiful hotel in India, an array of some of Britain's most popular older actors is assembled. They are eventually enchanted by the rustic home and discover that they have more in common than they imagined. Romantic encounters and infidelity would be expected in a film about youngsters’ travels, but this isn’t quite like that. A narrative centered on retirees is no exception, as we witness the characters fall in love with India and, in some cases, each other through young, comic writing that reminds viewers that life does not become devoid of colour once they reach retirement age. As the protagonists fall in and out of love with one another, the film argues that regardless of age, an older person may make the same erroneous judgments about romance as young people do.
‘Something's Gotta Give’
In ‘Something's Gotta Give’, actor Jack Nicholson and actress Diane Keaton give one of the most renowned mature romance stories, illustrating that love can always be discovered again, or for the first time, after you've passed the prime of your youth. Harry, 63, prefers younger women, but he is astonished to find himself falling in love with Erica, his newest girlfriend's neurotic mother. Despite the fact that both characters had younger lovers throughout the film, including actor Keanu Reeves as a handsome doctor, Harry and Erica are a natural match. Both have a passion for Paris, eating pancakes at night, and a strong unwillingness to accept their error, which initially keeps them apart. The film has a traditional enemies-to-lovers romance in which Harry and Erica go from loathing one other to discovering that they are soul mates, illustrating that a good and enduring love story does not have to rely on the younger generation.
‘Our Souls At Night’
Legends of the silver screen in Netflix's ‘Our Souls At Night’, actor Robert Redford and actress Jane Fonda play an elderly couple's romance with a light-hearted side despite the tragic circumstances that have brought them together. Taking the premise of a transactional relationship, similar to that of ‘To All The Boys I've Loved Before’, and applying it to an older couple is surprisingly hilarious and eventually heart-breaking, as bereaved Louis and Addie unintentionally fall in love with someone who was just there to alleviate loneliness.
‘Hampstead’
Based on actual events, ‘Hampstead’ is a story of tenacity and unexpected love, brought to life by veteran actress Diane Keaton and actor Brendan Gleeson with an unconventional meet-cute, as an American widow meets a guy living wild on Hampstead Heath and helps him avoid eviction. Finding love without searching is a typical romantic theme that is exploited to great effect in this film. Two individuals from entirely different backgrounds join together to fight for a cause and fall in love in the process, making this a terrific example of light, feel-good film amid the lovely shots of the legendary London area.