Up (35 ) Movie Review

I can think of few things I would LESS like to do than be interviewed every seven years for a movie between the ages of seven and thirty-five. That said, there are few series that are more compelling to watch than Michael Apted's superb 7-14-21-28-35 Up collection. It all began when the director spent a day with 14 English schoolchildren in 1963. There was pug-nosed Paul, and Tony who dreamed of being a disc jockey, and a bright-eyed little girl named Suzy, and a soft-spoken idealist named Bruce. Then there were two groups of three that he interviewed together: three insufferably stuck-up upper-class twits (John, Andrew, and Charles), and three children of the working class (Jackie, Lynn, and Sue). Symon, the only black child on the program, was also interviewed, as well as Nick, and a cheerful, charismatic little boy named Neil. Like most children, the kids were blessed with elastic, expressive faces, and—except for the twits—with fresh, original views of the world and themselves. When Apted returned to talk with them in 1970, 1977, 1984, and 1991, he, and movie audiences, discovered how each child survived the process of growing up. The most riveting story, of course, is Neil. At the age of 14, his cheerful face seemed enormously sad. He no longer talked about being an astronaut, but still thought he would make a good coach driver. At 21, he looked even sadder, and by 28 he was not only sad, but downright unhealthy and homeless as well. His inexorable descent into mental illness is wrenching to watch, especially since, unlike the others, he believes that his condition is entirely due to something inside of him. He never discusses relatives or any other close relationships, and he fears that if he were ever to marry, his kids would wind up like him rather than his wife, however outgoing she might be. Nick, who lives in America, suggests that the process of making the series and accounting for one's life to an international audience every seven years can't help but change a person. His wife Jackie, who received tremendous criticism for the way she came off in 28 Up, refuses to appear in the series anymore, and neither Nick nor Jackie will let their child participate. Nick, who now has an American accent, seems well, happy, and fairly philosophical about his many years under media scrutiny. He discusses the low-key British personality which may strike U.S. audiences as dull, and suggests that his and Jackie's frankness in 28 Up was misinterpreted by many viewers as a sign that their marriage was on the rocks. As a viewer who did feel that way, I might point out that things may not always be what they seem, even in a wonderfully revealing documentary like 35 Up.

1991 128m/C GB D: Michael Apted; W: Michael Apted; C: George Jesse Turner. VHS