Movie Review – The Intern

The Intern is an American realistic comedy-drama film about the working of seniors. A fast-growing e-commerce fashion startup is trying to launch a senior intern program. Ben Whittaker(Robert De Niro) is applying as a senior intern that he would work with full of young people. Seniors just want to experience and have something to do in their retired lives. He first attempts to record a cover letter video for the job application. The senior is interviewed by asking him how he will see himself in ten years. After ten years, the senior will be 80 years old. The eye-catching part of this film would be the debut of the actress Anne Hathaway acts as Jules Ostin, a workaholic CEO of a company. Everyone would envy her because she is beautiful, successful and builds a wonderful family. But she is hard to deal with at work. Ben Whittaker is assigned to work with her. The benefit of having a senior intern is that he gets lots of work and life experience. Experience never gets old as it is stated in the film. The old-school senior intern wears a suit at work with a classical suitcase. He shows manners and decency that the job does not demand him to this level. At work, he does not have lots of work to do. He offers advice to coworkers about the love of youngsters, choosing clothes and work-life balance. He attends to Jules’s worries so he cleans the messy desk for her. He is aware of security so he warns the alcoholic driver and drives Jules home safe. All are small tasks for him.

Old people are not useless. Many people will reach retirement age. The seniors can consider how to contribute to themselves after retirement. What they can offer would be more than the duties of an intern. The challenge of working with old people would be communication as they may have a generation gap when old people communicate with youngsters. Also, they have less physical energy and are easy to have health problems.

This film is a portrayal of modern working women as well. A traditional gender role for men is that they hunt for food, women take care of the home. Men work outside and women stay home is a common phenomenon in many married lives. It is also common that both men and women to work outside and hire a domestic helper for housework. In this film, Jules works outside and she is married to a stay-at-home husband who takes care of their daughter and supports her career which is not so common in many married lives. They look like they have a perfect life with a good wife, husband and a lovable daughter. Later, her husband is caught that he cheats on his wife. Why would men engage in infidelity? Especially, his wife is perfect from other people’s point of view.

According to Dr. Robert Weiss , a Digital-Age Intimacy and Relationships Expert, a male feels insecure about the over-success of his wife. To bolster his flagging ego, he seeks validation from someone other than his wife. The senior intern discovers the affair as well. At the same time, Jules has to face the biggest challenges at work that the investors of the start-up company would like to find another CEO for the company she built which is a strike for workaholic women. Since two big life crises come up to her, she doubts holding her position and would like to spend more time repairing the relationship between her and her husband. Ben always supports Jules and

advises her not to give up the career she has built and invites her to join Tai Chi class together to achieve a work-life balance. Workaholic women seem independent. They need support as well. When her husband faces the conflict of the affair, he also feels guilty about it and would like to support her career. In the Eastern world, family matters more. In contrast, western women celebrate individualism more which makes them focus more on their own than contributing themselves as a submissive wife. In general, females always sacrifice themselves for their love such as the Chinese story of "Mencius's mother moves three times". 

Mencius lost his father when he was young. His mother was responsible for his upbringing. Mencius learned things fast. When he lived near a graveyard, he would dig the tombs as he saw people come to the graves to dig the tomb which was impolite to the dead people as an offence. His mother stopped his bad behavior by moving to a new living place where near the market. Mencius began following the salesmen. He also hawked and bargained in the market. Mencius’s mother was afraid it would affect his study then she moved to another place near a school. Students were so hard working to study and polite to others. Mencius also learned from the students. Mencius’s mother was satisfied with the positive change of her son. When Mencius grew, he became an educator and influential Confucian philosopher in history.

In the movie Joker, Harleen works as a psychiatrist of the joker in the jail to assess his insanity. Surprisingly, she falls in love with the inmate joker and helps him escape the jail. She risks her career for his survival. A female strives for her lover more than striving for herself.

To conclude, this film shows the values of the senior as a Chinese proverb says an old person is like a treasure to a family. Also, Jules reflects the lives of modern women. She has to maintain her work and family. Without reasonable rest, she would burn out and collapse eventually. Even if people have an outstanding working profile, they still have their own problems such as infidelity of their husbands or coworkers. Ben and Jules have their ways of success. It is comfortable to see them share their experience that consoles each other. It is great to have a true and sincere friend in life.

Bibliography:

https://www.robertweissmsw.com/cheating-and-infidelity/why-do-men-cheat/