Youth

Italian director Paolo Sorrentino's Youth, set in a sumptuous Alpine spa, serves up a rambling tale revolving around Fred Ballinger (Michael Caine), a retired British composer/conductor, and his longtime pal, American screenwriter/director Mick Boyle (Harvey Keitel). Fred is accompanied by his neurotic daughter, Lena (Rachel Weisz), while Mick struggles with his next script, attended by several sycophants. Relationships get strained when Lena's feckless husband (Ed Stoppard), who happens to be Mick's son, leaves her for sexy British pop star Paloma Faith (playing herself). As Fred and Mick playfully ponder their prostates, respective legacies, and womanizing pasts, they are surrounded by attentive staff and other guests, including a self-absorbed actor (Paul Dano), an obese former soccer star (Roly Serrano), a lovelorn mountaineering instructor (Robert Seethaler), and voluptuous Miss Universe (Mădălina Ghenea), who strolls around unabashedly in the nude. When Queen Elizabeth II's emissary (Alex Macqueen) arrives to invite Fred to conduct a Royal Concert of an early composition, the summons triggers melancholy memories. And then Mick is stunned by a disquieting visit from his eccentric, bitter cinematic muse, Brenda (Jane Fonda). Caine and Keitel deliver subtle, multi-layered performances—among the best of their respective careers—in this film that offers an empathetic meditation on the human spirit. Recommended. [Note: Blu-ray extras include behind-the-scenes featurettes on star Michael Caine (4 min.), director Paolo Sorrentino (4 min.), “Cast” (4 min.), “Music and Sound” (4 min.), and “The Essence of Youth” (2 min.), as well as trailers, and bonus digital and UltraViolet copies of the film. Bottom line: a solid extras package for this fine actors' showcase.] (S. Granger)