The Intern

Six years separate director Nancy Meyers' previous film Not So Simple (2009) from this one, which went rather unnoticed. In only six films over seventeen years, director and screenwriter Nancy Meyers has established herself as a worthy descendant of the American comedies of Rob Reiner and Nora Ephron. These two directors relied mostly on actors experienced in comedy and other genres, and above all were perfectly in tune with each other. By discovering The New Intern, we find ourselves in front of these comedies of the nineties that have marked our memories. When, in a scene taking place in a big hotel, the character Ben Whittaker watches an old musical on television and is moved, we feel perfectly that the director wants to search for the emotional fiber of the films that rocked her childhood to our great delight. The culture shock on which the film is based is certainly not new in itself, but it is sufficiently compelling to hold our attention.

We discover a retired man who is tired of life and wants to find working conditions that will allow him to prove his usefulness. While in the United States many elderly people are forced to work again because of a too low pension and this point could have given rise to a great humanist film, the writer and director prefers to erase the difficulties linked to an imperfect social system to concentrate on an old-fashioned Hollywood comedy. The strength of the film does not rest entirely on an effective script nor on a direction with a real author's vision but especially on the presence of two generations of actors. One suspects that it was her role as an assistant in The Devil Wears Prada (2006) that allowed Anne Hathaway to easily impose herself in the role of Jules Ostin. In many ways, her character is reminiscent of the one played by Meryl Streep in this film. Similarly, Robert De Niro, who plays the main character Ben Whittaker, is perfect in a role that allows him to show the wide range of his multiple talents. While his last few films (Match Retour (2013), Malavita (2013), Last Vegas (2013), Face à face (2013)...) seemed only to dictate for commercial reasons, we can only be happy to find him in a real composition role. Each of the scenes featuring him testify well to the pleasure that he finds in interpreting complex characters and especially representatives of the past. In the same way that the characters Ben Whittaker and Jules Ostin are passionate about their work and represent two distinct generations, Robert de Niro and Anne Hathaway represent the old and new faces of the Hollywood industry. The New Intern also features supporting roles for Rene Russo (Thomas Crown (1999), Night Call (2014)..) and Adam DeVine (Pitch Perfect 1&2 (2012-2015).

The new intern also shows the importance for the director to learn from the actions of the past, the older generations so that we can keep the best possibilities of our work to do. By paying homage to the romantic comedies of our past, The New Intern perpetuates the idea that a film is not just a marketing product made of the aggregate of what may or may not appeal to the audience. Rather, it is the sum of talent that constitutes the soul of a film. In this sense, The New Intern is certainly not the comedy of the year but it stands out as the best film of this director and especially a way to find Robert De Niro in a great role. For that, we can only encourage you to discover this film in theaters.

The Intern
Written and Directed by Nancy Meyers
Produced by Nancy Meyers, Suzanne Farwell
Starring Robert De Niro, Anne Hathaway, Rene Russo
Cinematography : Stephen Goldblatt
Edited by Robert Leighton
Music by Theodore Shapiro
Production Companies : RatPac-Dune Entertainment, Waverly Films
Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
Release dates: September 25, 2015 (United States), October 7, 2015 (France)
Running time : 121 minutes

Seen on October 05, 2015 at Warner Bros France