The Intern
I took in a free screening of The Intern in Oxted this evening. Ben Whittaker (Robert De Niro) is a 70 year old widower who believes he still has a lot to offer the world. He applies for a senior internship programme at About The Fit, an online clothing company run by Jules Ostin (Anne Hathaway). Ben is assigned to work with Jules, who initially ignores him but soon finds his services indispensible. He becomes an increasingly large part of her working and family life, as she deliberates on whether or not to hire a CEO.
The sweeping piano and orchestration employed by the film is calibrated to tug at the heartstrings and this is one of those films where you have to leave your cynical hat at the door. It's warmly endearing rather than laugh out loud funny, although those around me laughed heartily at scenes involving a break in and an overenthusiastic massage. I like Anne Hathaway a great deal and her character is similarly sympathetic, save for the quirky affectation of riding a bicycle through her office. She's a strong female character, the like of which aren't normally depicted on screen, with her husband playing the "stay at home" role. Despite this, I've read some reviews of the film that complain about Jules' needing the help and assistance of an older man. Sometimes when it comes to gender politics, you seemingly can't win no matter how good your intentions are.
Anyway, De Niro gives a performance of great class and dignity, his relationship with Hathaway feeling believable even when the plot seems less so. There's very little actual conflict, save for some marital strife that the film handles with a modicum of sympathy. It did amuse me that Ben undertakes an increasingly large amount of work presumably without taking any sort of payment, so perhaps there's more truth in the film's premise than there initially seems to be.
Essentially, it's schmaltzy nonsense. But as schmaltzy nonsense goes, The Intern is well executed.
The sweeping piano and orchestration employed by the film is calibrated to tug at the heartstrings and this is one of those films where you have to leave your cynical hat at the door. It's warmly endearing rather than laugh out loud funny, although those around me laughed heartily at scenes involving a break in and an overenthusiastic massage. I like Anne Hathaway a great deal and her character is similarly sympathetic, save for the quirky affectation of riding a bicycle through her office. She's a strong female character, the like of which aren't normally depicted on screen, with her husband playing the "stay at home" role. Despite this, I've read some reviews of the film that complain about Jules' needing the help and assistance of an older man. Sometimes when it comes to gender politics, you seemingly can't win no matter how good your intentions are.
Anyway, De Niro gives a performance of great class and dignity, his relationship with Hathaway feeling believable even when the plot seems less so. There's very little actual conflict, save for some marital strife that the film handles with a modicum of sympathy. It did amuse me that Ben undertakes an increasingly large amount of work presumably without taking any sort of payment, so perhaps there's more truth in the film's premise than there initially seems to be.
Essentially, it's schmaltzy nonsense. But as schmaltzy nonsense goes, The Intern is well executed.
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