Movies

The four friends from Book Club are back, this time taking their long-awaited trip to Italy. A breezy, sun-drenched sequel that continues celebrating older women’s friendship, romance, and joie de vivre.

Da’Vine Joy Randolph won the Oscar for her portrayal of Mary Lamb — a woman in midlife processing grief with devastating, funny, unvarnished authenticity. One of the best films of recent years.

Based on a true story, a group of middle-aged women from a Yorkshire Women’s Institute pose nude for a calendar to raise money for a hospital ward. A warm, funny celebration of women’s bodies, friendship, and the refusal to be invisible at any age.

A group of Englishwomen — including Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, and Joan Plowright — refuse to abandon their beloved Florence as Mussolini’s Italy rises around them. A gorgeous, witty portrait of older women’s courage, loyalty, and refusal to be bullied.

A group of British retirees move to a renovated hotel in India. A crowd-pleasing ensemble comedy about reinvention, romance, and finding new purpose in later life — featuring Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Penelope Wilton, and Celia Imrie.

Diane Keaton plays a playwright in her late 50s who falls in love with her daughter’s much older boyfriend. A witty, warm rom-com that centers an older woman’s desire, creativity, and right to a full romantic life.

Meryl Streep plays a successful bakery owner in her 50s who begins an affair with her ex-husband. A glossy, funny rom-com that centers an older woman’s desire, confusion, and capacity for joy — and notably portrays her as the pursued rather than the pursuer.

An aging father believes he has won a million-dollar prize and insists on traveling to claim it. June Squibb’s Oscar-nominated portrayal of his sharp-tongued, sexually frank wife is a revelation — an older woman of ferocious honesty and humor.

The court of Queen Anne is a battleground for power between two women — Olivia Colman, Rachel Weisz, and Emma Stone deliver Oscar-caliber performances in a savage dark comedy about female power, manipulation, and the price of influence.

Jim Broadbent plays a 60-year-old taxi driver who steals a Goya painting from the National Gallery. Helen Mirren is magnificent as his long-suffering, devoted, fiercely practical wife. A warm, funny portrait of an older marriage full of love, exasperation, and shared history.

Emma Thompson plays a late-night talk show host who has become complacent and discovers her show is at risk. A sharp, funny film about a woman in her 60s reckoning with her failures and choosing growth over comfort.

Robert De Niro plays a 70-year-old widower who becomes an intern at a startup run by a busy young woman (Anne Hathaway). A warm, funny film about intergenerational connection, aging, purpose, and what older people have to offer.

A 93-year-old woman is scammed out of ten thousand dollars and sets off across Los Angeles on a motorized scooter to get it back. June Squibb is ferociously fun in a delightful, action-packed homage to Mission Impossible that celebrates agency and fury at any age.

Maggie Smith, Kathy Bates, and Laura Linney play Irish women who win a trip to Lourdes, taking along a long-estranged friend. A warm, funny, moving film about old wounds, forgiveness, faith, and female friendship in later life.