42 Up

So damn happy for Bruce in this one.

Michael Apted continues to chronicle the lives of these people. It's illuminating and food for thought. He makes smart aesthetic choices (the new scenes generally cuts together perfectly with the old footage) and his questions always continue previous lines of inquiry. This and '21 Up' are the best instalments of the series so far.

If you've followed the subjects of this series this far, you're committed for the long haul just as they are. The biggest reward of tuning in to this entry is to see the progress of Bruce and Neil. Neil is on the upswing from his bouts of mental illness and homelessness, while his sweet friend Bruce finally finds love and is married.

These quite magnificent films have now evolved to a poignant, piercing insight into the ageing process and the frustrations and mini-triumphs to be found in the mundanity of life. Apted becomes better and better at illuminating his subjects' quiet truths, balancing his gentle, honest enquires with the inherent exploitative nature of his project. The sometimes repetitive nature of the archival footage has molded now into being reminded of the lives of who feel like old friends at this point.

Neil Hughes: "Well, I'm not married. I value all experience. I feel that part of my life hasn't happened."

The series is becoming less interesting now that the subjects have settled into stable middle-aged lives. The only big surprise in this instalment is that Bruce outs himself as the Caped Crusader at his own wedding.

It's no longer about the epiphanies of people as they grow up and reflect upon their lives, nor have they changed a whole lot, but it's still a great watch.

Bruce is awesome.

More interesting than 35 Up, as some of the "Uppers" have had some surprising changes since they were 35. It's also a far more hopeful and optimistic part of the documentary series, and although 50% of each documentary is of old clips now the editing is getting better. This is also seen when the same questions are being asked to different people, it feels less like a routine or statistical analysis.

Maybe it's because the participants are closest to my own age, but I found this the most interesting of the series. Many of the subjects are in some state of transition or are eloquent enough to reflect on their lives with insightful introspection. The most compelling one, Neil, has taken a turn for the better, though still struggling. The commentary on class was more thoughtful than previous attempts to address the subject. I still think the series is better as an idea than in execution.

Making the same class based argument for six films in a row has become a bit tedious. Furthermore, at 42 I'm not sure that we're getting much introspection or insight anymore. The subjects were asked a bit about regrets and if they would change anything, but there wasn't enough new there. I'm not entirely sure if I'll bother with 49 Up, but I know I'll probably become interested again once they come into their 60s, and have a bit more perspective on life.

Excellent.

"Two subjects acknowledge their conjoined lifeline, become best friends, and as a result a life is forever changed." - Ed Gonzalez

Now that everyone's life has been more-or-less cleaned up, it does kind of make the show a tad less interesting, but they can at least still contemplate their past experiences. There's also an excellent clip at the end of this one that breaks the fourth wall by having these participants talk about this program itself, it's successes and it's hypothesis on class systems.

I'm rating all of these a 90 because I see the experiment as valuable. These are normal people, for the most part, and some are interesting, some are not. Some of them have very bad problems, some don't. The prejudice of the film-maker is obvious, but what captivated me was whether or not we come to know these children, and later adults? I think we do, better than we ever will know Tom Cruise or Lindsay Lohan, no matter how many films they make. For that, for the depth of information, it's a 90.

Intriguing to no end. Some real opinions are presented now. "The Up Series" concept is a thought provoking look at the social structure.

Watching all these in a short time span maybe wasn't a great idea. It's interesting and there some moments that generate genuine reflection. Very much worthwhile, as is the rest of the series. The editing does get a little tiring, though, with all the use of old footage that I've already seen. It also feels a bit more voyeuristic than the previous films, which isn't a good thing.

A very honest Up where the subjects are old enough to reflect on how life doesn't work the way fiction does. I also think this is the last truly innocent one before the explosion of Reality TV in the 2000s (and now self-documenting through Web 2.0) altered everyone's perspective. A project like this can never again really be done.

I'm not sure why, but I found this one more interesting than 35 and 28. Maybe because now that they're in their 40s, you see what they've made of their lives moreso than in the previous films. There are definitely some surprises in this one.

One of the high points of the series, for sure, particularly as certain of the relationships are fleshed out. That said, I would have been fine if they had stopped with this one.

See my review of 49 UP.

A great series, although not as engaging as the earlier ones, better with the directors comentary.