RICHARD Loncraine was in his 70th year when he directed this delightful comedy starring delectable Dianne Keaton who’s close to his age, opposite Morgan Freeman, nine years his senior. That trio of distinguished career experience tells the story that Charlie Peters adapted from Jill Ciment’s novel “Heroic Measures”, both in their mid-sixties.
The troupe of seniors tells what happens when artist Alex and Ruth, 40 years married, no kids, one geriatric dog, decided that selling their apartment – lovely location, great river views, no elevator in the building – would be sensible while they still could climb five flights of stairs. They have engaged estate agent Lily (Cynthia Nixon) to find a buyer.
Finding a buyer is only half the exercise. Unless they plan to live under a bridge or become grey nomads in a mobile home, sellers must become buyers. Secondary plots involve a fuel tanker accident blocking traffic on the Brooklyn Bridge, city-wide panic when TV shows the clean-shaven driver wearing a white skullcap – terrorist alert – and a five-digit veterinary bill for a dog in great pain.
Its strong seniors focus doesn’t detract from the ability of “5 Levels Up” to satisfy all adult ages. The dialogue-based comedy is clever. The tensions are sweetly credible. The three principal characters are played to perfection. In particular, Morgan Freeman shines, a beautiful man blessed with a chocolate ice-cream baritone voice and a superb gravitas that fits comedy perfectly.
At Capitol 6
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