By its very definition, between youth and old age lies middle age. It's a time of life best defined as one's 40s and 50s, and potentially one's early 60s, too. It's not always explored in movies because it's an unpopular stage of life, to be perfectly blunt. Those who are young don't look forward to it, and while old age has its own difficulties, at least some who get there experience comfort in retirement, and maybe a gentler pace of life (the twilight years, so to speak).
However, just because most films don't explicitly explore the trials and tribulations of the middle-aged doesn't mean that none touch it. The following 10 films aim to showcase how a usually "boring" or "middling" period of one's life can be explored in ways that are interesting, entertaining, and emotional. Throughout a variety of genres, each manages to explore midlife crises and general middle-aged angst in engaging, insightful ways.
'Scenes from a Marriage' (1974)
.jpg?q=50&fit=crop&w=1500&dpr=1.5)
The theatrical edit of a 1973 miniseries (almost three hours long, compared to the miniseries' near five-hour runtime), Scenes from a Marriage represents famed Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman at his most compelling.
Though it's an absorbing and phenomenally acted film, it's also a difficult one to watch. It showcases a middle-aged couple falling out of love and starting the long, agonizing process of divorce, and the way it affects each of them. It captures something that can happen to couples at the midpoint of their lives, and does so in a manner that's unflinching and sometimes uncomfortable, yet undeniably compelling.
'The Seven-Year Itch' (1955)
This Billy Wilder film also stands as one of Marilyn Monroe's most iconic roles, and approaches the idea of a midlife crisis in a way that's more humorous than most films about middle age. The Seven-Year Itch centers on a middle-aged man who gets to live a (temporary) life as a bachelor, when the rest of his family goes away for a summer holiday.
He soon discovers that Monroe's character - young, bubbly, and attractive - has moved into a nearby apartment, and when they meet, things naturally get complicated. Risqué for its time, but not as impactful today - and certainly not one of Wilder's best - it still stands as a solid comedy that provides a lighter-than-normal look at middle-aged frustrations.
'Clerks III' (2022)
In Kevin Smith's classic 1994 film, Clerks, the struggles of getting by in your early 20s were explored in a way that was quirky, funny, and even a little moving. Clerks II (2006) did the same whilst revisiting the characters in their 30s, approaching middle age, while Clerks III finds them well and truly at the midpoint of their lives, nearing 50.
Clerks III is a surprisingly moving conclusion to what's become a near 30-year saga, with a great deal more drama than you'd expect from a Clerks film. It honestly looks at the struggles of middle age (particularly the physical implications of getting older) in a way that's often blunt and realistic. It does still have a good deal of juvenile humor, as Clerks movies tend to have, but it's balanced with a good deal of (mostly effective) pathos and honesty about aging.
'The World's End' (2013)
.jpg?q=50&fit=crop&w=1500&dpr=1.5)
The World's End sees five high school friends reunite to try and complete a massive pub crawl they attempted - yet ultimately failed to finish - when they were younger. Tension arises when it's clear that Simon Pegg's character hasn't matured or grown up the way the others have, and then things are further complicated when their pub crawl is interrupted by surprisingly apocalyptic events.
It is a science-fiction comedy, sure, but The World's End's look at nostalgia and refusing to grow up makes it surprisingly impactful. There's a great deal of heart - and even some tragedy - in the film's second half, making it a moving and powerful film about being in your 40s, yet having an inability to shake the desire to be anywhere but.
'Before Midnight' (2013)
Richard Linklater's Before Trilogy explores the relationship between Celine and Jesse over three movies and almost 20 years. They meet by chance - in their 20s and hopelessly romantic - in 1995's Before Sunrise. They go their separate ways and fail to reunite as planned, until a chance meeting in 2004's Before Sunset sees them together once more, and questioning whether they can restart their brief - yet passionate - romance.
2013's Before Midnight, the trilogy's concluding chapter, reveals they did decide to rekindle their relationship, and have been together since the end of 2004's Before Sunset. Naturally, things have become more complex in their lives, and the film's power comes from showing these characters - who we met as young adults - now older, wiser, more jaded, yet ultimately still in love... just in a different way, as time will often do to a relationship.
'Jackass Forever' (2022)
Taking a gross, crude, yet utterly hilarious look at entering middle age, Jackass Forever is admittedly first and foremost about outrageous stunts and pranks, but it also gives an insight into getting older, and how your body is no longer able to do the things it once did.
Indeed, the passage of time is a prevailing theme in this fourth (and maybe final) Jackass movie. Injuries are more serious, new, younger members are introduced into the crew to do some of the more difficult stunts, and the film tributes Ryan Dunn in its end credits, an original member of Jackass who passed away in 2011. It's still a lot of fun, but it certainly doesn't shy away from the fact that this once young, fearless crew may not be so young anymore... yet that ultimately doesn't stop them from feeling little to no fear.
'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood' (2019)
.jpg?q=50&fit=crop&w=1500&dpr=1.5)
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood may feature several real-life figures from Hollywood in the late 1960s (including Margot Robbie as Sharon Tate), but the focus is ultimately on the fictional Rick Dalton and Cliff Booth, played by Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt, respectively.
Rick Dalton is facing something of a midlife crisis, partly due to getting older while in Hollywood, and losing relevance. He's not old and entirely washed up, but his fear of approaching that point does drive much of the drama in this otherwise fairly relaxed, laid-back film... well, relaxed and laid-back to the final 15 minutes, at least.
'American Beauty' (1999)
Perhaps the quintessential midlife crisis movie (at least for American cinema) might have to be American Beauty. It's the central premise of the film, really, with suburban father Lester Burnham feeling dissatisfied with what his life's become, and the various things he does to bring a sense of excitement - or danger - to his humdrum existence.
It might not be easy to sympathize with a character who's so annoyed by what's a relatively comfortable life (especially nowadays), but the film does get to the heart of what can cause a midlife crisis, and how it may make affected people feel and behave. It is definitely a film of its time, but not without some things viewers of a similar age to Lester may potentially find relatable, whether they want to or not.
'The Incredibles' (2004)
Being a family film doesn't stop The Incredibles from including some middle-aged angst at its core. Kids may love the action and superhero adventuring, but adults are most likely to find Bob Parr's (AKA Mr. Incredible) story most compelling, as he's an ex-superhero forced into a normal life, longing for the days when he was younger and able to freely use his powers.
Leave it to a classic Pixar movie to balance that midlife crisis storyline with the explosive action and family humor so effectively. It's a balancing act that The Incredibles pulls off near flawlessly, making it one of the animation studio's best ever films.
'The Four Seasons' (1981)
Alan Alda was in his 40s for much of M*A*S*H's 11 seasons, but due to it being set in the three-year-long Korean War, and his character, Hawkeye, being in his 30s for those three years, the show didn't really allow the actor/writer/director the chance to explore middle-aged issues.
However, a movie he wrote, directed, and starred in while M*A*S*H was still on TV sure did. The Four Seasons is one of the most explicitly middle-aged-focused movies ever made, with all six main characters being at the midpoint of their lives, and dealing with all the struggles and relationship tensions that come with being at that age. It's sometimes funny, sometimes sad, and sometimes a little on-the-nose, but much of it rings true, and it's certainly a very underrated and underappreciated midlife-focused movie.