Fridae

Michelle Pfeiffer once said, It seems that my leading men just get younger the older I get. She wasn’t bluffing. First there was cute and cuddly Paul Rudd (I Could Never Be Your Woman, 2007) and then dashing Rupert Friend (Cheri, 2009) and now the utterly hot Ashton Kutcher. To ageing queens everywhere, the 51-year-old screen siren is certainly a role model.

In the quiet and intimate drama Personal Effects, Michelle plays a woman whose husband is murdered. Ashton plays a man who is mourning the death of his sister. The two become friends through a grief counseling group, and quickly find themselves leaning on each other for moral support.

Gradually, the emotional connection turns into an awkward romance between the older woman and the younger man. But when a couple’s strongest link to each other is the tragedies they’re both trying to move on from, how can the relationship withstand the pain?

Personal Effects is based a beautiful short story by Rick Moody, who also wrote The Ice Storm which Ang Lee turned into an extraordinary drama. Although Personal Effects doesn’t reach the genius levels of The Ice Storm, its still an affecting film about what people have to do to get over a tragedy.

Director David Hollander shoots his debut film in gloomy grays and blues. But the star wattage of Michelle and Ashton cannot be dimmed. They both look immensely attractive in this film Michelle is sexier at 51 than any woman we’ve ever seen, and Ashton looks very handsome when he’s not horsing around and playing punk.

This movie is interesting to those who’ve missed Michelle Pfeiffer’s graceful screen presence, and those who want to see a rare serious side of Ashton Kutcher. Though Ashton doesn’t always convey the pain he needs to, Michelle always keeps the picture together. Her performance is warm and radiant, full of intuition and subtlety.

If women are like wine, then actresses are like Montrachet 1978s absolutely priceless.