At the time of filming Silver Linings Playbook Jennifer Lawrence portrayed a thirty-nine year old widow, but was herself barely old enough to drink legally in the US. Similarly, in Joy Lawrence played a women in her mid-forties, while in American Hustle she played a middle-aged love interest to a nearly forty year old Christian Bale. Strange as these casting decisions look, no one really noticed, let alone asked the burning question: Why cast someone barely over her teens to play a woman in her mid-30s, especially when there are so very many talented older actresses sitting on the sidelines? It has become unheard of to cast an actual thirty-five year old to play a thirty-five year old onscreen. It would seem that pop culture is slowly killing off the adult female, effectively erasing any visual onscreen age differences between a woman pushing 20 and a woman pushing 40. The mature woman has all but disappeared from film.
Natalia Borecka 
Leave a comment