There are a lot of unrealistic things that happen in movies. There are movies where aliens invade earth, superheroes save the day, and people travel through time.
In the Jurassic Park franchise, dinosaurs have been brought back to life. In other types of movies, young women often become involved romantically with a different kind of dinosaur. The latter is featured in Woody Allen’s latest offering Magic in the Moonlight, where 25-year old Emma Stone plays the romantic lead alongside 53-year old Colin Firth.
It’s a poker-faced, business-as-usual approach to the plot, without as much as even a brief ‘hey, will it be weird when I come to meet your dad and I’m older than him?’ conversation.
Not being familiar with the film, I assume that the title refers to Emma Stone’s character accidentally drinking a magic love potion that causes her to fall for the nearest man after mistaking it for water in a dimly moonlit kitchen?
Of course, in this specific movie made by this specific director, there are many other factors at play that might make this couple, or this movie, unpalatable. In real life, it is not totally unrealistic for a young woman to fall for a much older man (especially if he is handsome and English), and these kinds of relationships occasionally occur in real life, and are normal and successful.
What isn’t normal is the idea that movie after movie promotes: that these kinds of relationships are the standard. Statistically, they are very much not. Yet the silver screen would have you believe that we should all just go along with the premise of a romantic age gap of several decades. It’s a poker-faced, business-as-usual approach to the plot, without as much as even a brief ‘hey, will it be weird when I come to meet your dad and I’m older than him?’ conversation.
We’re getting to the point where it’s noteworthy to see similar-aged couples on-screen. It shouldn’t be more shocking for us to watch a movie where Steve Carrell (51) is paired with someone like Juliette Binoche (50) in Dan in Real Life than it is to watch Steve Carrell paired with Keira Knightley (29) in Seeking a Friend for the End of the World.
Alternatively, if it is a (very rare) movie featuring an older woman and younger man, it will almost always be a major plot point, because it is seen as something so foreign to our innocent eyes. This double standard is the root of the problem.
It will come as no surprise that the beauty standards (especially in the entertainment industry) set for women are far different to those set for men. Ageing is the worst thing that can happen to an actress. Leading men age, but their love interests don’t.
It is not surprising, considering that older men are still mostly in charge of making movies, that the only thing that changes as men get older is that they bed younger women. What is surprising is that the public hasn’t revolted against this incredibly boring, predictable and long-lasting trend by now.
When will the public decide that they have had enough, that they would like to see more examples of age appropriate romances? When will they start saying no thank you to tiresome on-screen romances like 62-year old Liam Neeson romancing the 30-year old Olivia Wilde, as portrayed in the upcoming The Third Person?
My hope is that more of us will demand to see even just a few more movies where actresses like Julianne Moore and Mary Louise Parker bring a new and different kind of sexuality to the screen opposite similarly aged (or younger) actors without it being shocking; a romantic pairing that will be full of experience and weight and fascinating perspectives.
Of course, the beauty of youth has always had its appeal, and the public’s desire to see it will probably never be conquered. Except for the incredible lack of diversity in what is considered ‘attractive’, there is nothing inherently wrong with wanting to see young beautiful people doing interesting things on screen.
What is wrong is that male actors are allowed to grow old without it impacting their ability to be given interesting and diverse roles, while the same isn’t true for women.
What is wrong is that male actors are allowed to go grey and have their craggy faces filled with lines, and are still cast as the sexy leading man, but the same will never be true for women.
What is wrong is that the constant parade of movies starring young women and older men encapsulates perfectly our attitudes towards women ageing, and the inherent sexism and double standards that lie beneath it.
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