37 year old Maggie Gyllenhaal ‘too old’ to play 55-year-old’s love interest

[DavidDvorkin]

81. That's a different discussion, and we'd probably find ourselves in agreement

I don't know when I first noticed how often the leading man was middleaged to old and the female love interest was young enough to be his daughter. Maybe about 20 years ago?

I detest that on the screen. May-December romances happen, in both directions, but they're rare. In any case, in movies that's rarely the story. Usually, the old man is playing a romantic hero. I'd much rather see a younger actor in that role, and I'd much rather see the two characters being around the same age.

One could object that restricting male leads to young actors would just exacarbate the problem of Hollywood ageism by subjecting men to the discrimination that actresses now face. Frankly, I don't care. Movies are for escape, and I want to see beautiful young people on the screen.