The first time I saw Dustin Hoffman he was involved with a 40 something woman and when I saw him again last night, he was again involved with a 40 something woman. The difference though is about 40 years have passed in Hoffman's life (yes, mine too) from the first time his character, Ben, was an early 20's in the Graduate to Last Chance Harvey, in which he appropriately plays a 60 something. Of course he has a much higher woman savvy quotient as Harvey who is smitten with Emma Thompson's character but the puppy dog looks are still there. Well, men like to think we get savvier about women as we age but that discussion we'll leave to another time.
This genre of movie is probably going to become more popular as the industry realizes that boomers have their favorite actors who are aging as well. The nice thing here is that the movie is about the lives of the older characters, not just about them being someone's grandparent or mentor.
Hoffman is just one of those actors that draws me to any movie he is in and I still watch the Graduate, Midnight Cowboy and Rain Man whenever the opportunity presents itself. His performance in Harvey while not at the same level as these 3 roles because the character doesn't demand it, is certainly solid although I wish the director had taken more advantage of Hoffman's innate ability to be humourous.
I am less familiar with Emma Thompson but remember her Oscar winning performance in Howard's End and whenever I see her on TV or in a Harry Potter flick, I'm always impressed by her wit and she does so again in Harvey. One thing that jumps off the screen at you is that Emma is not a petite woman and often seems to tower over Hoffman. With Hollywood technology's capability to make anyone look any size, it was obviously something the director wanted us to notice. I think that's a good thing because in real life, not all women are size 2's and in their early 20's. On a blog, Emma said:
"If you see the picture, and I hope you will because I love it very
much and am moved by it every time I see it, you’ll notice I am
decidedly unglamorous and at least size 16. I really wanted to look
like a “normal” woman, I mean in terms of body size.
Actresses
seem to be getting tinier and tinier and I do wonder how we think we
can present really powerful women, matriarchs and the like, when we
seem to insist upon having such attenuated physiques."
If you like Hoffman and/or Thompson, or are tired of trying to relate to 20-something actors, see the film. Yes, it's somewhat predictable so you aren't going to be blown away with plot twists although there is a bit of suspense even-but it doesn't last long. However, it's nice to watch 2 boomers (I know I am stretching the term with regards to Hoffman) manage to get together and resolve some baggage issues that many of us may relate with in one way or another. While I'm no prude, it's also nice to sit through a movie where every 5th word doesn't start with F, no one gets a limb severed and cell phones are just used as phones. Oh yes- stick around when the credits roll. About a minute in, something happens on-screen that leaves you wondering-"How's that going to turn out?"
