I'll See You in My Dreams

Hollywood has garnered a notoriety for its ageism towards actresses. The minute an actress starts showing the faintest hint of aging, studios lose interest in hiring them. (Yet if the actress hails from the United Kingdom, no hindrance of their career whatsoever.) Thankfully in recent years, there have been several women-led films starring actresses over fifty and not named Meryl Streep.

One such film is Brett Haley's I'll See You in My Dreams. It's a quiet film, certainly, but it's also a nice change of pace from the other options at the cineplex. (You can only stand so much CGI.)

Starring in I'll See You in My Dreams is Blythe Danner, who's more known nowadays for being the mother of Gwyneth Paltrow than for her own career. Thankfully this film proves that Danner is just as good of an actress (if not better) than her daughter. She's in a role that's been given to many actors in their later years but not to actresses. (Is it honestly that hard to write a role for a woman?)

But what is I'll See You in My Dreams about? To put it simply, it's about reclaiming youth in old age, experiencing romance after so many years, and gaining a new lease on life. Or to put it in another way, it's a film about life.

Though not without its flaws, I'll See You in My Dreams is a very charming film. It proves that there are roles available for women of an older age. All it takes is a good writer to provide them.

My Rating: ****