The Intern: De Niro stars in a gem

The Intern
cast: Robert De Niro, Anne Hathaway, Rene Russo, Adam DeVine
Rated: 7/10
When Nancy Mayers makes a movie it is issue-oriented, largely woman-centric, light, funny, cohesive and enjoyable. The Intern is up on all these Meyerisms and has one more plus point — the vintage presence of an obviously enjoying himself Robert de Niro. Much like the intern he becomes at age 70 just to fill up his empty hours, the film too looks like one of those silly seasons that the actor may have wanted to fulfill while at a loose end.
That he turns out to be the star of a film otherwise based on the contemporary topic of woman trying to balance her career and home in the midst of official stress and personal betrayals speaks volumes about the tenacity of De Niro and explains why he is worshipped by the dream merchants the world over.
As an intern, he is meticulous, completely at ease with his agedness and a natural father figure to the software web generation. He teaches them the goodness of chivalry, the need of getting dressed, the power of caring and listening and also the ins and outs of wooing girls of any generation.
Formerly a phone book printer, a profession not many in the current generation even understand, he has impeccable manners, the indulgence which only comes with years and a demeanour so pleasing that even the slightly eccentric owner of the start-up company he works for — Anna Hathway — eventually leans on him for emotional support.
The best thing about the film is that Meyer thought it fit not to introduce even a whisp of romance between the two and did the right thing of respecting their age gaps. So, even though they spend a night in bed in a hotel room, there is no hanky panky. As Hathway sleeps her blues of husband betrayal in her house rope, De Niro just gives her company in bed, watching TV and munching on cookies — just like a father or a family elder. And yet, the chemistry between the two is as taut as the tensions she faces in an office which she built from scratch but is now about to pass on to a CEO at the behest of investors.
The film is deliberately light on the move and full of anecdotal sequences, actually as old world as De Niro sage in the film. Old meets young without any hiccups and the learning is on both sides even as Meyer zooms on to the much larger issue of a working woman’s compulsions and the choices she needs to make.
The Intern really is the boss of the proceedings. This week’s best film. 
Source: Sunday Pioneer, September 27, 2015

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