49 and Counting

I have reached the end of my journey -- so far -- with The Up Series. 49 Up was made in 2005, and so until 2012 rolls around, it is the last in the series. Certainly, there will be a 56 Up when the time comes, though I would think the series appropriately "complete" if that never happened. The narrator of the original Seven Up documentary all those years ago said that by looking at those children of age seven, you could get a glimpse of Britain in "the year 2000." As 49 Up stands several years past that point, it could well be seen as the culmination of the documentary project.

In any case, let's see what has become of those children of the early 1960s.

Tony and his wife are still together, even after the affair revealed in 42 Up. They're both still cab drivers, and they have taken out a second mortgage on their home in order to buy a holiday home in Spain. And they're talking of moving there permanently, possibly to start a sports bar. In any case, Tony feels that the economy will bust in less than five years under Tony Blair's government, and that is spurring on his desire to leave the country. (I can't say how much Blair had to do with it, but the general prediction wasn't off the mark.)

His oldest son Nick is still in the furniture business. Jody, his middle daughter, is recovering from a broken relationship. And his youngest daughter Perry is a postal worker. He has three grandchildren now. Watching him and his wife Debbie interact in the interview, you see steady -- but usually playful -- bickering. But more than that, you see they really are similar.

On to the trio of Jackie, Lynn, and Sue.

Jackie is raising her three sons, getting by with a disability benefit from her rheumatoid arthritis, and help from the grandmother of her younger two boys. Her oldest, Charlie, wants to leave school early to apprentice as a car mechanic, and she's trying to steer him aware from that. Her second, James, has an interest in making his own computer games. Lee, the youngest, is adventurous, and Jackie sees a lot of her own best traits in him.

But more interesting than the facts of Jackie's life in this particular film is the argument she gets into with the interviewer. Jackie has always had a bit of a short temper when it comes to these films (and we're shown a brief montage of past highlights), but she really takes filmmaker Michael Apted to task on this occasion. She says that he always edits the films to make his own point, and hopes that 49 Up might finally be the first time the documentary is truly about "us" and not about how "you (Apted) see us."

Apted probes further into what she means, and she says that the previous film was less about what she was doing with her life and more about what she might not be able to do now in light of her condition. It was playing on sympathy. She also says that she's more intelligent today that he (the interviewer) thought she would be at age 7. "I enjoy being me, and I don't think you expected me to turn out the way that I have." And she says she cringes when she watches the films, not just for herself, but for the others too. Take that, Apted!

Sue is far less fiery a subject. She works for a college in London as an administrator for the legal program. She's together now with Glenn, the man she was just getting to know as of 42 Up. She's very committed to him, but they are not married. She basically says that she's done the marriage thing (implying that she will not ever again). Her son William works in computers, having passed on the chance to go to university. Her daughter Catherine is still finishing school, but is incredibly similar to Sue herself, she thinks. Sue has moved out of the East End, and is asked if it feels to her like she's reached "the upper class." Perhaps it does, she agrees.

Lynn is still working at the same library, but fears that job may be in jeopardy to still further cutbacks in education. "They" say that a specialist such as herself is not required to do her job. There is no change in her health; her brain condition is not going away, but neither is it a problem. She is still happily married, but her husband still refuses to take part in the films. She says he sees them as an intrusion, and she respects that view. Her two daughters, Sarah and Emma, are grown. Neither went to university, by their choice, and Lynn does not find that a disappointment. "It's their lives. You can only guide and be there for them." One of the two has a son of her own.

Bruce still teaches, but has changed schools again. (Though he's still with a school affiliated with a church.) He has left behind the teaching of less privileged children, work which he still says is very important, but that was wearing him down more than he was affecting the lives of his students. He and his wife, newlyweds as of 42 Up, now have two boys, Henry and George. They will not be sending their boys to boarding school, as Bruce was. He says he looks at himself at 7 and feels that boy doesn't even look familiar. "He looks lost and sad."

Paul has sought professional help in getting through a bout of depression. Though he's doing well now, he talks about concern that it was a strain on his marriage. (Though his wife seems surprised to hear him say so in the interview.) When he's asked if he has any ambitions, he says simply no. He notes that he's worked in the same job for 10 years and never asked for a raise; that's just the kind of guy he is. Their daughter Katie excelled in school, and is now an archaeologist that goes out on digs all over the world. Their son Robert is still battling his reading disability, but has become a car mechanic, husband, and father.

Suzy makes a rather brief appearance in the film. She says that now is maybe the first time in her life that she's ever been completely comfortable with herself, and that appearing in these films always dredges up things she'd compartmentalized and moved on from. Either she's never spoken of the issues she's concerned about, or she's referring to her general depression after her parents' divorce, from around age 14 to 21. To my eye, she seems to have done quite well for herself, but she says the films have not been a good experience for her, and that this is probably the last time she'll participate in them. She also speaks wistfully of her three grown children beginning to move away from home, of a chapter in her life coming to a close.

Nick's life has seen many changes, but he's still doing well. Because the technology simply didn't exist to continue his research on fusion, he's been forced to abandon it. But he still teaches undergraduates, and sees sparking their interest as a way to keep his dream alive. He has divorced his wife, apparently fulfilling the predictions of many Up Series viewers who thought the marriage doomed. But according to Nick, it wasn't his decision. She went to England to visit a dying father, and came back a completely different person. The two quickly drifted apart. Perhaps because she's no longer around to protest it, their son Adam (now age 16) appears in one of the documentaries for the first time.

Nick has remarried, to another professor. But the two teach at different campuses in different parts of the state, and must commute on weekends to see one another. "Absence makes the heart grow fonder," he muses. It is perhaps an unconventional marriage, but the two seem very happy together. She has a young boy herself from a previous marriage. She's also concerned that doing these films is a wrenching experience for Nick. He does them because he feels they're important, and sees how they've been important for other people... yet it's difficult to have such a vivid scrapbook of one's life, she thinks.

Symon is still happy with his second wife, and still working at the freight job. (A job he only took originally to be close to his son's school.) He now has two grandchildren, but his five kids from his first marriage had stopped seeing him for a stretch. He's only recently back in touch with most of them. He says he sometimes wishes he'd pushed himself harder, and for better, but still, he believes one should "work to live, not live to work." He talks of things he once wanted to be -- a boxer, an actor -- but then admits he never really wanted those things. He just wanted to be liked.

Because Symon and Paul were originally in the same school at age 7, they're brought together for a reunion in this film. But mostly, the film focuses on their wives' reaction to this. Both women agree the men are family oriented, thoughtful, and not impulsive. And both "married noisy women." Closing his segment, Symon talks of the documentaries themselves. He says he loves watching everyone else, but hates doing it himself. He also says that by the end of making each film, he usually hates filmmaker Michael Apted. (Who is taking a bit of a beating this time out!)

We turn now to John, Andrew, and Charles. Well, not to Charles, who remains consistent as he has since 21, refusing to participate any more in the documentaries. This time, we don't even get the brief narration explaining what has happened to him in the past seven years.

Andrew has left the law firm he worked at for decades to go to an industrial gas company. He felt the other job was no longer challenging, and he wanted something that stretched him. (Personally, I wonder if this was a bit of rebellion after living 40 years of a quite regimented life?) His sons Alexander and Timothy are at university and boarding school, respectively. And he and his wife Jane live both in London and a country home they've been converting slowly over time. Andrew says that life is now tougher and more competitive for his children than it was for him. He sees his age 7 version reciting the map of his entire education, and says you could never get a child that age to do that today.

John continues his cycle. Present for the film at 21, out at 28, back at 35, out at 42, and now back again. And again, as with 35, it seems to be because he has an agenda to push. He's contemplating an entrance into politics, as the current government as a whole is doing great damage to the country's constitution. He's still running a charity for Bulgaria with his wife -- an endeavor he acknowledges was quite helped by 35 Up. But it seems as though his main purpose in returning to the films is to speak out against them. He likens the Up Series to a reality television show, acknowledging the voyeuristic appeal, but questioning whether they have any real value.

Lastly, as usual, comes Neil. He's left London, but remains in politics, now part of a local city council in northwest England, and planning a run for a seat at the county level. He says he moved because he no longer felt satisfied in the city, and found the country less stressful. Consequently, his friendship with Bruce has more or less ended. (Bruce says on the subject that this happens in life, that people sometimes drift apart.)

Neil's father died five years ago, but he thinks that relationship had deteriorated long ago, and that perhaps the death brought him slightly closer to his mother. He's become ordained as a minister, continuing to find relief in religion -- though he says he has no aspirations for priesthood. He remains unmarried, and says that is a great regret in his life, never having found someone. He concludes his segment, and the film, by telling a story of a butterfly once catching his eye with its beauty, and wondering if that is really all there is to life: being who you are.

And thus concludes my trip through The Up Series. I'd say it's a whole greater than the sum of its parts. Many of the individual films, particularly early on, are a bit tedious, but there's something that really captivates overall. Perhaps it's just the voyeuristic appeal John described, but perhaps it's the greater meaning and importance that Nick spoke of.

In either case, I'll certainly be checking in two years' time for the next installment.