Older people are significantly underrepresented in movies, a recent film analysis by University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism found. Just 11% of 4,066 speaking characters in the 100 top U.S. films are 60 or older. “Seniors on screen are an endangered species in cinematic storytelling”, the authors wrote in the report. So, it seems a good time to revisit some of the best movies that focus on seniors and offer fresh and engaging perspectives on the process of ageing.

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011)

A star-studded romantic comedy, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel follows a group of British seniors who decide to take early retirement together and head to Jaipur, India. Attracted by its exotic (and less expensive) allure, the group plans to live lives of leisure at the affordable yet lavish newly resorted Marigold Hotel. However, once they arrive, they find the palace is now a disheveled wreck. Challenged by their new less-than-luxurious surroundings, the group are forever changed by their shared experiences. The movie looks at important aspects of senior life — health and financial issues, life reviews, death, disappointments, and changes in marital relationships, as well as the possibility for new experiences and personal transformations in later life. The movie packs a star-studded cast including Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson and Maggie Smith. 

The Bucket List (2007)

In The Bucket List, Jack Nicholson plays Edward Cole, a billionaire with only six months left to live. In the hospital’s cancer ward, he meets Carter Chambers (Morgan Freeman), a car mechanic who’s also nearing the end of his life. Instead of wallowing in their bad news, the pair decide to create a bucket list together. Edward and Carter set off around the world via private airplane, visiting the Taj Mahal, Great Wall of China, and Mt. Everest along the way. As these two terminally ill men do their best to live life to the fullest and complete their bucket list, they forge an unlikely but remarkable friendship in the last remaining months of life. 

RED (2010)

RED (an acronym for “Retired: Extremely Dangerous”) tells the story of Frank Moses (played by Bruce Willis), a former black-ops CIA agent whose now quiet life is about to be turned upside down. When his former employers frame him for an assassination and send a hi-tech assassin to kill him and the woman he’s fond of, Frank reassembles his old team of retired top CIA agents (Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, and Helen Mirren) in a last ditch attempt to stay alive. The team work together to penetrate top-secret CIA headquarters to uncover one of the most shocking conspiracies and cover ups in government history. RED is based on the DC Comics graphic novel of the same name by Warren Ellis.

These three movies are some of the best which showcase wonderfully rich and diverse older characters. They certainly prove that age is nothing more than just a number.