The portraits we've gotten over the years of the 11 remaining participants are both affectionate and aloof, charming and uncomfortably voyeuristic by turns. We've learned about disappointments, infidelities, deaths in the family, even madness, from people who have no greater claim on our attention than having been picked practically at random three-and-a-half decades ago. By interweaving footage shot throughout the series, Apted doesn't just show us hairlines receding or cheekbones vanishing beneath middle-aged flab, but how sparks of childhood curiosity can die out, how the dull business of getting on the best you can sometimes stoops your shoulders and slows your pace. Some unflattering moments, however, are generously compensated for by the quiet admiration Apted clearly has for all concerned.
Each film has been subtly different from the others, as different stages in life bring new concerns to the foreground. At 42, settling for what you've got becomes a considerable priority -- that, and taking good care of your children. So 42 Up is mellower and a bit more reflective than its predecessors, though no less engrossing.
Truth be told, I've never considered Apted the ideal director for such a dream project; he's too modestly workman- like, both insufficiently probing and overconfident of his insights. (It's worth remembering that three people have declined to continue on; and while one can clearly be written off as a snobbish twit who resented the intrusion, the other two seem to have been motivated by what they saw as Apted's reliance on clichés and banalities.) But minor talent or not, Apted has stayed the long haul. To say 42 Up could have been a better movie shouldn't diminish the impressive fact that it exists at all.
