Review of 49 Up (2006) by Josh G — 23 Apr 2009

Well, it has happened. I have finished the Up series so far, and now I join the rest of the civilized world in the aching wait until the next installment is released in 2012. Yikes.

It's tempting to judge 49 Up as the final chapter, even though it most decidedly is not. Still, I knew it would be the last movie about the lives of Suzy, Tony, Jackie, Lynn, Sue, John, Andrew, Charles, Simon, Neil, Bruce, and Paul (am I missing anybody?) that I will be seeing for some time. And so it was tempting to look for some sort of resolution. That resolution, obviously, did not come. This is not the final chapter. And furthermore, even though it sounds like kind of a stupid statement to make, these are real people's lives - there are no tidy conclusions to their stories. Their lives go on when you turn off your television. Their lives are going on right now. That's so weird to think about. You could literally go to the University of Wisconsin and sit in on a class taught by Nick. Even during 42 Up, the film was from the late '90s, you know? That was still kind of a distant time from now. It's so strange to realize what you've known all along: yes, these people are still around today. Crazy.

Along with 35 Up, I found this entry in the series to be among the weakest. Which is not to say that it wasn't fantastic, because it definitely was. Jackie's interview was especially rewarding, given her strong feelings about the series. In fact, come to think of it, everybody has sort of strong feelings about the series that were just touched on briefly during the previous film. This time, they pretty much all say something about how it has affected their lives. John is back (for the same reasons), even though he still feels that the documentaries provide a quote-unquote "bit of poison" every seven years. Although Suzy was probably my favorite of the subjects before, there aren't a whole lot of new conclusions that one can draw from her in this installment of the series and she hints that she may not return for future installments. That's kind of irritating, but I'm sure she has her reasons.

Mostly, though, I think that this film was much like 35 Up in that there are not really any truly major changes that have occured. Sure, there are a couple of participants who have gotten divorced or re-married, which is surprising... but perhaps because we don't really get to see the spouses very much, the news of these divorces is not particularly shocking. Otherwise, everybody seems to be about where they were before with regard to their station in life. The people who were firmly lower-middle class before are, big shock, still firmly lower-middle class. Nobody made a million dollars in the last seven years (or lost their millions).

I really don't know what else to say. I wish there was more, seeing as how this is the last entry in the Up series for the next three years. But frankly, it's hard to follow up something as incredible as 42 Up was. Apted still has magic flowing through each of these films, but there are some that are better than others and that's just fine.

If I could rate the series as a single entity, it would without a doubt be worth five stars. Hands down.