Some things in life are inevitable: Death, taxes, and somebody dredging up discourse about age-gap relationships. The mere act of dating someone significantly older (or younger) than you seems inherently controversial, as if two consenting adults can’t simply be attracted to each other. In Hollywood, age-gap relationships are commonplace; it’s become the norm to see men in their fifties and sixties romancing women half their age.
When it comes to older women in relationships with younger men, examples are few and far between. This has created a significant imbalance that suggests older men are still attractive and romanceable at any age, but women have an expiration date attached to their sex appeal (which was brilliantly parodied in Inside Amy Schumer). That age gap conversation is certain to start up again this weekend, with the release of the new Netflix film A Family Affair. Directed by Richard LaGravenese, the film follows a romance between actor Chris (Zac Efron) and writer Brooke (Nicole Kidman), who is 16 years his senior.
Remarkably, A Family Affair isn’t the only 2024 film that features a relationship between a woman and a man 16 years younger. Directed by Michael Showalter, The Idea of You stars Anne Hathaway as working mom Solène, who strikes up a surprising romance with boy band star Hayes (Nicholas Galitzine). But A Family Affair and The Idea of You are more than just explorations of older women dating younger men and what that entails: They’re both a major repudiation of common age-gap discourse. These movies are ready to detonate that conversation once and for all.
