Aside from oddities like the action spoof “Red,’’ Hollywood tends to relegate actors in their 60s, no matter how accomplished, to supporting roles. So it’s a delight to see William Hurt and Isabella Rossellini given an age-appropriate showcase that doesn’t involve heavy artillery.
Rossellini plays a recently retired teacher who worries that her mild memory loss may be the first sign of Alzheimer’s. When she embarks on such measures as equipping the bathtub with grab bars, she freaks out her longtime husband (Hurt), an award-winning, workaholic architect who is already upset by a request by his boss (Simon Callow) to design a senior-citizens’ residence.
Much to the consternation of their three adult children, the couple temporarily separate, and each has a fling with a younger partner. But it’s clear that these two seniors have a shared language, which writer-director Julie Gavras beautifully communicates in a scene in which the two stars converse in mime at a noisy party.
An English-language production sponsored by the French studio Gaumont, “Late Bloomers” moves at a poky pace even by American indie standards. But it’s worth checking out for the fine cast, which also includes Joanna Lumley as Rossellini’s earthy pal, and scene-stealing Doreen Mantle as her tart-tongued but wise mother.