Principal Cast: Christopher Plummer, Marcia Gay Harden, Shirley MacLaine, James Brolin, George Segal
Directed and co-scripted by Michael Radford (The Merchant of Venice, Il Postino) and based on the 2005 Argentine film of the same name, Elsa & Fred brings together Hollywood legends Christopher Plummer (Barrymore) and Shirley MacLaine (Bernie) — who previously shared the screen in Richard Attenborough’s 2007 film Closing the Ring — as two aging lovebirds who discover that it’s never too late to make dreams come true.
Plummer stars as the straight-laced Fred, a recently widowed gentleman in his seventies who is forced by his daughter Lydia (Marcia Gay Harden, Magic in the Moonlight) to move into a small apartment complex. There, he meets his new neighbour Elsa (MacLaine), who has dreamed for sixty years of recreating the famous Fontana di Trevi scene from Fellini’s La Dolce Vita with the great love of her life — a love that she has yet to meet. Storming into Fred’s orderly life like a whirlwind, Elsa determines to teach him the true value of the time that he has left, and to live the precious moments that remain of his life to the fullest. Gradually letting down his defences, Fred finds new inspiration in Elsa’s fervent will to live, and the pair set out to make Elsa’s long-held dream come true.
Screen veterans Plummer and MacLaine have remarkable chemistry in this affecting story of late-in-life love, which also features solid supporting work from Scott Bakula, Chris Noth, George Segal, and James Brolin. Both heartbreaking and heartening, Elsa & Fred’s December–December romance is certain to resonate with audiences who remain young at heart.
Elsa & Fred | Monday Night Film Series | Tilley Hall, Room 102, UNB Campus | February 16, 2015 | 7:30PM | More Info
