''When I'm 64'' is a television film about two older men from different backgrounds who first become friends and then lovers. It was broadcast on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

on 4 August 2004, and was also screened at several

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

film festivals A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festivals show some films outdoors. Films may be of recent date and, depending upo ...

in 2005 and 2006.

Plot

Jim (

Alun Armstrong Alan Armstrong, known professionally as Alun Armstrong, is an English actor. He grew up in County Durham in North East England, and first became interested in acting through Shakespeare productions at his grammar school. Since his career began ...

) is a Latin teacher who is retiring after a long career at the same

public school Public school may refer to: * State school (known as a public school in many countries), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government * Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging independent schools in England an ...

he attended as a boy. He has led a sheltered and lonely life and is determined to see the world and fall in love. His plans are delayed when his father ( David Morris) has a stroke. The cab that picks Jim up from school is driven by Ray ( Paul Freeman), a widower whose grown children, Caz (

Tamzin Outhwaite Tamzin Maria Outhwaite (; born 5 November 1970) is an English actress, presenter and narrator. Since playing the role of Mel Owen in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', she has starred in a number of theatre and television productions, includi ...

) and Little Ray (

Jason Flemyng Jason Iain Flemyng''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005.''; at ancestry.com (born 25 September 1966) is an English actor. He is known for roles in British films such as ''Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels'' (1998) ...

), use him as an unpaid babysitter for their kids. Ray also feels lonely and unfulfilled, and the terminal illness of his friend Billy ( Karl Johnson) has made him face his own mortality. He is inspired to take charge of his own life after learning of Jim's plans. Despite their different backgrounds, shy academic Jim and former football hooligan Ray become friends. Although Jim is sexually inexperienced and Ray has lived a lifetime as a heterosexual, their friendship eventually develops into a romantic relationship. The situation is further complicated by the reactions of Ray's children.

Background and production

The film was made as part of

's The Time of Your Life season, which featured programs focusing on people over 50. Writer

Tony Grounds Tony Grounds (born in East London) is a British playwright and screenwriter, who has worked extensively in television. Described by ''The Independent'' (11 October 2002) as "the best TV writer of his generation", Grounds has written for all four ...

explained: "When I was asked to do something about this age group, I wanted to do something different. I didn't want to talk about pensions and bus passes." Executive producer Jessica Pope said: "The underlying theme that you're never too old to make changes in your life is universal. Jim and Ray take a course they couldn't contemplate in their youth, but they grasp the opposite now. They don't bow to others' expectations about how old men should behave." Actor Alun Armstrong said he had some reservations about filming the love scene between Jim and Ray "because the taboos are so ingrained in us... But when I read the script I thought, 'It's a lovely story. It's such a good idea, with great twists in it and, all right, so they turn out to be gay.'" The title of the film alludes to

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

song "

When I'm Sixty-Four "When I'm Sixty-Four" is a song by the English rock band The Beatles, written by Paul McCartney (credited to Lennon–McCartney) and released on their 1967 album ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band''. McCartney wrote the song when he was ab ...

" although Armstrong’s character retires at age 65 in the film.

Broadcast, distribution and reception

Airing on 4 August 2004, ''When I'm 64'' had 3.17 million viewers. It was the second-highest-rated program of the week on

, though all the top 30 programmes on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...

had higher viewing figures. It won the

Prix Europa {{notability, Events, date=March 2021 PRIX EUROPA – The European Broadcasting Festival – is the Europe's largest annual tri-medial festival and competition. The event takes place in the third week of October in Berlin, Germany. PRIX E ...

for Television Programme of the Year 2005 – TV Fiction. ''The Independent'' observed ''When I'm 64'' challenged TV conventions by depicting older people in a sexual relationship, while Nancy Banks-Smith of ''The Guardian'' found it "touching" and said the dialogue was "strikingly true to life." Dan Odenwald of ''Metro Weekly'' wrote: "''When I'm 64'' is richer and more subtle than most romances. The age and experience of the couple allow director Jon Jones to offer a deeper, more layered narrative."Odenwald, Dan
"''When I'm Sixty-Four''"
''Metro Weekly'' (Washington, D.C.), October 2005. Retrieved 2011-02-16. The film was subsequently shown at various

film festivals including the

Frameline Film Festival The Frameline Film Festival (aka San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival) (formerly San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival; San Francisco International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival) began as a storefront event in 1976. The first ...

in San Francisco in June 2005; the

Reel Affirmations Reel Affirmations (RA) is a non-profit, all-volunteer LGBT film festival in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1991 and held every year in mid-October, as of 2011 Reel Affirmations was one of the largest LGBT film festivals (in terms of attendance) in t ...

film festival in Washington, D.C., in October 2005; the Chicago International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival in November 2005; the Vues d'en Face festival in Grenoble, France, in April 2006; and the Out Takes film festival in New Zealand in June 2006. At the

Philadelphia International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival Philadelphia QFest was founded in Philadelphia as the Philadelphia Gay and Lesbian Film Festival by TLA Entertainment Group in 1995. It was given its current name, QFest, in 2009. One of the festival's founders and current Artistic Director, Raymon ...

in July 2005, it won the jury prize for best feature in the gay male category, and at the Out Takes Dallas film festival in November 2005, the film won the award for best feature and Alun Armstrong was awarded best lead actor in a feature."And the winners are... Out Takes Dallas closes 7th season, announces best of the fest awards", ''Dallas Voice'', 18 November 2005. ''When I'm 64'' has not been released on DVD.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0402714, When I'm 64
BBC Press Office: ''When I'm 64''
BBC television dramas British television films British LGBT-related films 2004 films Films about old age Gay-related films 2000s British films