Kings Point 2013
Distributed by Women Make Movies, 115 W. 29th Street, Suite 1200,New York, NY, 10001; 212-925-0606
Produced by Jedd Wider, Todd Wider, Sari Gilman
Directed by Sari Gilman
DVD , color and b&w, 31 min.
College - General Adult
Aging, Interpersonal Relations, Social Problems
Date Entered: 01/22/2015
Reviewed by Maureen Puffer-Rothenberg, Valdosta State University, Valdosta, GAFor this brief but powerful exploration of isolation among the American elderly filmmaker Sari Gilman interviewed five elderly residents of Kings Point, a Delray Beach, Florida retirement community. Bea, Molly, Gert, Jane, and Frank epitomize a generation that moved south with their spouses in the 1970’s and 1980’s, when pretty new condos were cheap and city life in the north seemed more dangerous by the day. Now widowed and separated from children and grandchildren, they struggle to find companionship among their peers and, sometimes, just to fill their days.
Widows and widowers find their married friends leave them behind, and the possibility of new romance is a favorite topic. Gert says, “Some ladies, they gotta have a male companion wherever they go…’cause they’re desperate…These old guys, they can’t take care of you, they can’t, they need someone to take care of them…I don’t need them, them or their sex, or their money or what have you. I’m taking care of myself very nicely.” Molly doesn’t believe in love at her age: “…at 70? No, definitely not.”
Bea and Jane, however, want to be in relationships. Gilman spotlights the close but platonic relationship between Bea and Frank, a source of gossip among their neighbors: “She cooks for him!” “You’re kidding. That’s all she does?” Frank rather unkindly strings Bea and Jane along, waiting for a younger woman because he fears outliving another wife.
Kings Point residents take the bus to the mall, see movies, play cards, sit by the pool, and go dancing, but for many it’s a forced march; as Molly says glumly, “You make the very best of living in Florida.” Extended families are geographically far away, and younger visitors find Kings Point dull. The women emphasize an attitude of self-preservation among their peers; self-absorbed or simply overwhelmed by illness and frailty, their neighbors typically avoid anyone who truly needs help.
This intimate and well-produced look at one retirement community is especially timely in light of Florida’s burgeoning elderly population. Kings Point is recommended.