"Young @ Heart" is a chorus like no other. With ages ranging between 75 and 93, this rowdy bunch of seniors based in Northampton, Massachusetts, have won sensational reviews performing rock classics all over the world!
Where would we be without senior citizens? Nowhere....Exactly! Without getting into the nitty gritty we wouldn't be here without them; something to think about there, just don't think too hard. Save yourself from any images of the macabre. Back onto point, it is probably best to discuss the plot of the film, so here we go. Young at Heart sees a group of senior citizens form a chorus group that delve into a music catalogue that is placed very distantly away from their musical norm. Songs from The Clash, The Ramones and The Talking Heads all feature. Lots of 'the' there but it is important, as the Young@Heart chorus group are just brilliant.
Thankfully the film did not take the path of the obvious and showcase the group as some sort of bad joke. Don't get me wrong there are some very funny parts in this film, but the important thing to note is that you are not laughing at the group you are laughing along with them. You go on a journey with these people and you feel every bump along the road with them. And by the end of the journey not everyone gets away scotch free. A few step out of the car and meet the darkness simply known as G. Reaper. Some of the performances that follow are genuinely heartbreaking in regards to the events that have come before them. There are two scenes that stick out like a sore thumb when discussing heartbreaking moments in this film. One involves an elderly gentleman singing the Coldplay song 'Fix You' after his friend has passed away. As he sits isolated on the stage with nothing but a spotlight keeping him company, he produces a performance that some up and coming acts can only dream of. The audience is in his tear filled palms and there is no way the audience or you for that matter are letting go. When the chorus of the song hits it takes a toll on you the viewer. A delicate attack on your emotions that will see you giving the excuse of 'There is something in my eye' as you brush away the beginning of the tears.
For me the best scene in the movie comes when the Young@Heart chorus group travel to a local prison to put on a show. A concert that could have become somewhat of a pantomime, transforms itself into something hauntingly beautiful as the chorus sing bob Dylan's 'Forever Young'. A tear or two were shed and I am more than positive that any readers that pick this film will do the same. There is just something about seeing these two groups coming together and watching what evolves from it. It just shouldn't work, but it does, and this statement becomes the perfect banner for this film. The songs, the people, the concerts, shouldn't work, but they do and they are some of the most moving scenes in cinema that have been pieced together in the last few years.
This film could have been a sickly sweet mess of melodrama, but thank whoever above that it wasn't. It is a simple story about a loveable group of people that manages to cradle the audience into a state of pure charm. Do yourself a massive favour and pick Young at Heart up. Put some time aside one night to watch it. Settle yourself down on the couch, sofa, barge, or whatever you sit on to watch DVD's. Pop this in the player and prepare to be moved. Laugh, cry and perhaps sing a few lines as you are told the brilliant story of the Young @ Heart chorus.
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Documentary telling the story of the Young at Heart Chorus, a group of senior citizens in Massachusetts who meet regularly to sing contemporary and classic rock and pop songs including numbers by James Brown and Sonic Youth. The average age of the choir members is 81, and many of the singers overcome chronic health problems in order to participate. The film covers the final weeks of the group's rehearsal for a concert in their home town. Directors: Stephen WalkerFormat: PALLanguage: EnglishRegion: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)Aspect Ratio: 16:9 - 1.78:1Number of discs: 1Classification: PGStudio: Yume PicturesDVD Release Date: 23 Mar. 2009Run Time: 107 minutes
Documentary telling the story of the Young at Heart Chorus, a group of senior citizens in Massachusetts who meet regularly to sing contemporary and classic rock and pop songs including numbers by James Brown and Sonic Youth. The average age of the choir members is 81, and many of the singers overcome chronic health problems in order to participate. The film covers the final weeks of the group's rehearsal for a concert in their home town.
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