really seems a bit weird for me. I love both of them but Julianne Moore is 27 years older than Ellen Page, who already looks younger for her age. I wish they had cast someone younger as Laurel(Rachel Weisz,Naomi Watts,etc)
shareHester was in her mid-40s when this story occurs. I'm not sure how old Stacie was, but judging by photos, she was a bit younger.
shareThey were actually 30 and 49, so the people that this movie is based on had a 19 year age gap. Granted Ellen is 27 and Julianne is 54 but it's not that much of a stretch. I think the casting here is pretty spot on.
shareThanks for the explanation; it seemed extremely suspect that they'd cast someone so young, especially when it's acknowledged that women get fewer roles as they age, and this movie seems conscientious enough to be aware of that.
shareMy very first thought, when I found out they'd be playing partners is that yeah, the age difference will be distracting.
I didn't know much about the movie when I first looked into it and assumed Ellen might be playing one of the partners daughters!
Not sure I'll be able to watch it and not constantly be thinking Moore's character is a cradle robber!
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I agree. It the biological age gap of 27 is made even worse by Ellen having a teenaged appearance.
It reminds me of all the times we complain that male celebrities are placed with younger wives or love interests. And here is Hollywood doing it with women.
I really wish they'd used a lead that was younger.
***So I've seen 4 movies/wk in theatre for a 1/4 century, call me crazy?**
Well, considering the way Hollywood films are cast I don't really see the problem.. There's a ton of hetero couples in movies with an age difference similar to Julianne & Ellen's. Just to list a few:
Richard Gere & Laetitia Casta (29 years) - Arbitrage
Denzel Washington & Kelly Reilly (22 years) - Flight
Johnny Depp & Amber Heard (23 years) - The Rum Diary (also married irl)
Harrison Ford & Anne Heche (26 years) - Six Days and Seven Nights
Liam Neeson & Olivia Wilde (32 years) - Third Person
So yeah.. I think they'll make a cute couple :)
In response to your point.
When i first heard/saw the casting my first thought (after ooh, Ellen Page..sexy) was the age difference.
Then i remembered all the age differences that you mention.
This made me realise that if a feminist like myself immediately notices the age difference with an older woman, but not with an older man, then we really have become oblivious to that blatant difference in male/female casting.
Plus, unlike with the older male casting, the age difference is not shown as an issue at all, whereas when it happens in this 'older female' film it is actually a plot point. This is also the case in opposite sex films when the female is older.
Not just casting inequalities, but ones that we now only notice when we are questioning the age difference of women.
"Never Eat More Than You Can Lift" - Miss Piggy.
As feminists we DO notice when celebrity males are with young trophy wives. We notice a lot. And it's saddening for female celebs to replicate this pattern.
This film would have been better with better aged-suitable partners. 19 yrs difference when you're early 20s is a LOT different then 27 years difference in your early 20s.
I love both these actresses, but the casting was a bad choice.
***So I've seen 4 movies/wk in theatre for a 1/4 century, call me crazy?**
If you watch the documentary and see Stacy and their interactions as a couple, you will see that Ellen Page was perfectly cast. There was a big age difference to start, but Stacy also seemed so much younger than her actual age.
shareEllen was perfectly cast, Moore was certainly not. She looked like she could be Page's grandmother! (this is not dumping on Moore, I love her, just the absolutely wrong casting choice)
***So I've seen 4 movies/wk in theatre for a 1/4 century, call me crazy?**
Too funny, I thought Moore looked too young for the part. But, I just chalked it up to not being familiar with what Laurel was like before she was sick.
shareThe term "trophy-wife" is somewhat an anti-feminist word because it's calling women objects. It's one thing if the older person is just marrying someone for their looks or because of a midlife crisis and not for love, but it's not fair when the couple truly loves each other.
Age gaps in relationships aren't bad when a couple truly loves each other. In the case of an older man with a much younger woman, he is able to bring his life experience and self establishment to the relationship while the younger woman is still at child bearing age. Not to mention the youthful vitality and optimism that a young person can bring to a relationship.
In real life there was around a 20 years age difference, while the actresses' age difference was around 27 years. So yeah they could have cast someone different. I won't argue with you there. But there isn't anything wrong with the choices they made.
I'm not defending the movie. I literally got bored with it and turned it off. But I am defending against the implication that an age difference in a relationship is somehow anti-feminist.
Yes, we are conditioned to accept big age gaps as long as it is an older man with a younger woman- you're absolutely right. When the woman is older (either with a younger man or woman) it's perceived differently.
shareIt's not pedophilia if your partner is 27 years old. Seriously, I can't believe that needs explaining. Looking young is not an issue. And 54 is "almost 60"? Dammit. My daughter just turned 2 and already I have to start planning for her 8th birthday party?
"Give mama break."
Now you're just writing lyrics for George Clinton songs. Excellent. Either that, or you just made a massive Freudian slip.....
http://drnorth.wordpress.com
Basically it's a typical Hollywood formula where the point of the movie is to showcase "dumb ole' conservative American's" hate and intolerance.
when i saw the trailer the age gap certainly surprised me which then led me to think maybe they didn't put enough emphasis in properly casting but when i saw that Laurel was born in 1956 (died at 49 in 2006) and that Stacie was born in 1975, meaning she would have been around 30 when her partner had died. I therefore can accept the age gap and while Ellen Page does tend to have a very young face, perhaps they are emphasizing it for an aspect of the story.
shareThere are large age gaps in many happy adult relationships. Why should that bother anyone who is not involved? Some individuals are so damn nosy that they let other people's lives affect them negatively. That is both disturbing and sad.
shareEllen Page does tend to have a very young face, perhaps they are emphasizing it for an aspect of the story.
Actually, no one "cast" Ellen Page. She bought the rights to the story and produced the movie.
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