The Observer, April 25, 2008
Volume XL, Issue 26
Young@Heart offers insightful look into lives of elderly hard rockers
In a society almost exclusively focused on youth, it was oddly refreshing to see a film featuring a cast of elderly people. Even more refreshing (and certainly more fascinating) than that would be watching these people singing a large variety of punk and alternative songs on a stage for hundreds of cheering fans. This is the premise for Stephen Walker's documentary, Young@Heart, which looks at a same-named Northampton, Mass. choral group for the elderly.
The group, directed by Bob Cilman, started in 1982 with a repertoire of vaudeville tunes, although now the group's direction has steered toward modern rock bands like The Clash and the Talking Heads.
Cilman works the group with a great passion and determination and keeps them on a tight schedule, but the rewards he provides are worth the trouble. Cilman has, in the group's existence, organized performances for diverse audiences, from prison to Norwegian royalty.
Walker, a British documentarian, and his crew follow Cilman and company and sit in on rehearsals as they prepare a new set of songs. The rehearsal scenes, which take up approximately half of the film, are delightful and often humorous, showing the group hard at work trying to perfect many songs that these old-timers would have never listened to on their own. They struggle with some of them (particularly James Brown's "I Feel Good" and Sonic Youth's "Schizophrenia"), but as they begin to perfect the songs, the audience cannot help but cheer the group on.
This is largely due in part to what makes up the other half of the film – detailed scenes that personalize many individuals within the group. These people are genial, good natured and humorous, but most importantly, they possess a certain sense of youth that even many young people don't seem to have. "I'm 92," one member of Young@Heart said, "but I feel like I'm 29." It is this sort of vitality that not only gives these people the ability to rock out on stage, but also endears them to the audience, making their stories enjoyable to watch unfold.
Apart from being thoroughly entertaining, the film also provides a stunning look at ageism. Watching senior citizens gather together and willingly belt out "I Wanna Be Sedated" or "Life During Wartime" is not particularly normal. Walker's intent to try and break down some of these barriers and show that getting old is not completely congruous with withering away is a noble one. The entire concept of watching a film with an elderly cast and leaving it feeling young is unique and excellently executed.
The documentary itself is well assembled, striking the perfect balance between light-hearted entertainment and a moving story of coping with the onset of age. Sentimentality runs strong, but it never feels contrived, and the film will probably tug the heartstrings of even some of the greatest cynics.
As such, Young@Heart is the sort of film that will leave its audience cheering, likely have it clapping at various points during the film, and might even have it leaving the theater singing. Its insightful look into this specific senior chorus, the lives of its members, and ageism in general is powerful and genuine, and if any film were to truly convey the message of Bob Dylan's "Forever Young" (which is sung in the film at a visit to a local prison), this would be it.
