Anatomy of a Scene's Anatomy: 'Youth' is Wasted on Two Notoriously Horny Old Actors

<< Blog | Editorial Features Tuesday, November 19, 4:00 PMTue, 19 Nov 2019 @ 4:00 PM by Thrustin' Hoffman

In our weekly seriesAnatomy of a Scene's Anatomy, we're going to be taking a look at (in)famous sexscenes and nude scenes throughout cinema history and examining their construction, their relationship to the film around it, and their legacy. This week, two notorious on-screen lotharios come up against true beauty in the acclaimed film Youth.

In the history of cinema, there have been a lot of actors who have consistently found themselves as playing sexually aggressive characters time and again, but easily two of the most notorious for playing lotharios are Michael Caine and Harvey Keitel. These two men have been involved in dozens of sex scenes on film, and we all know of Keitel's penchant for whipping it out on screen. Seeing them together as two men in the twilight of their lives is an interesting premise, one that comes to a head 80 minutes into the film.

Italian director Paolo Sorrentino, fresh off of winning an Oscar for his 2013 flickThe Great Beauty, came into his next film with a ton of heat surrounding him.Sorrentino turned to Caine to play retired composer Fred Bellinger, a man vacationing at a luxury resort atthebase of the Swiss Alps with his best friend, the decidedly not retired filmmaker Mick Boyle (Keitel). The two men shareplenty of revealing dialogue over the first hour of the film aboutthe meaning of art and beauty in life and the fading of their memories over time, not to mention their desire to be able to have a good, strong urine flow once more. Mostly, however, the film is about the weight of the word genius, and how it continues to haunt those labeled as such throughout their lives.

Fred can't simply just retire, not least of which is due to the Queen attempting to coax him out of retirement to conduct one of his symphonies for Prince Philip. He's just too good to hang it up, much like his friend Mick, who has pinned the entire crux of his next film on bringing aboard his favorite leading lady, aging grand diva Brenda Morel (Jane Fonda), for what he feels will be his last truly "important" work. These hopes are eventually dashed when she turns him down to do a television show, telling Mick he hasn't made a good movie in years, and ultimately driving him to kill himself.

But before all of that mess ensues, Mick and Fred find themselves swept up in the excitement of the reigning Miss Universe (Mãdãlina Diana Ghenea) arriving at the resort. A scant seven minutes into the film, we first lay eyes on her immense beauty as she strolls the resort, wearing a gold bikini and her Miss Universe sash, coming chest to chest with Caine as she passes him on the narrow causeway...

Fred, being the horny old goat that he is, can't wait to tell his buddy Mick about her and the two imagine an inner life for the woman not far off from what most men assume of beautiful women—essentially, she doesn't have much going on upstairs. When the film reaches the 80 minute mark, Fred and Mick head down to one of the resort's many pools for a nice soak and discussion about their failing bodies. It is then that they are joined by Ghenea, who makes a fully nude entrance for the ages...

She continues on into the pool, aware that these two men are there, but moving past them as if they don't even exist...

The film's poster features this moment as well, indicating that I'm not the only person who sees this scene as the film's thesis statement...

Too old to actually do anything more than ogle from afar, these two horny old coots are finally put in their place, metaphorically speaking. While I found the film's messaging muddled at best and downright navel-gazing at worst, this scene is kind of the only time Sorrentino makes a lucid point without saying a word. This beauty has passed these men by, physically and metaphorically, without them even realizing it. While this is definitely Fred and Mick ogling Miss Universe, it's more importantly Caine and Keitel sitting helplessly by as the world progresses, almost indifferent to any contribution they may have made.

The aggressors are now timid old bystanders, too old and limp-dicked to do anything about the beauty and youth on display before them. They realize their time is up and all they can do now is stand back and admire what the younger generation will do with this gift of beauty and youth. Will they squander it as these men feel they have or will they pick up the ball and run with it, making a better, more beautiful world than the one they were left? When they discover that this Miss Universe is also surprisingly well-read, well-spoken, and literate, their old guard crumbles even further.

This woman, being looked at like an object by these two old men, isn't an object. She's a new breed of woman that these men are simply too far gone to appreciate. It's the one metaphorical flourish in the movie that actually works, and thank goodness this website exists because it means you never have to sit and watch this pretentious movie to see the poetry that is Mãdãlina Ghenea in motion.

We'll be back next week with America's sweetheart Meg Ryan taking on the most sexually adventurous role of her career in Jane Campion's In the Cut.

Catch up with our other editions of Anatomy of a Scene's Anatomy...

—The "Real Sex" ofDon't Look Now

—Scarlett Johansson's Nude Debut inUnder the Skin

—The 2 Very Different Sex ScenesofBasic Instinct

—How Halle Berry's Nude Debut Led Her toMonster's Ball

—HowMulholland Dr.'s Legendary Lesbian Scenes Deepen the Film's Mystery

—Showgirlsand the Dangers of High Camp

—Rosario Dawson Laid Bare for Danny Boyle'sTrance

—Katie Holmes MakesThe GiftWorth Remembering

—Jennifer Connelly Comes of Age inThe Hot Spot

—Lisa Bonet's Bloody Nude Debut inAngel Heart