Michelle Pfeiffer Says 50 Truly Is Better Than 49

via Sydney Morning HeraldThe Sydney Morning Herald calls Michelle Pfeiffer an “ageless beauty”. Pfeiffer turned 50 during the filming of ‘Cheri’, playing Léa de Lonval, an ageing courtesan born in a 1920 novel by Collette.

Pfeiffer says she’s glad the day is behind her, but it was no big deal.

“I think [Léa] is still holding onto youth,” says Pfeiffer, who lives in northern California with her husband, “Ally McBeal” creator David E. Kelley, and their two children. “I mean, I’ve certainly let go of that. One of the things that turning 50 has done for me is that it’s been liberating to go from this pressure to stay looking young to, ‘I look good for my age.’ It’s a different and much healthier mind-set.” via Women’s Wear Daily.

‘Cheri’ has opened to mixed reviews, regarding the actual chemistry between Pfeiffer and Rupert Friend, her young lover.

I just read an interesting comment in the NYTimes review by Manola Dargis. He writes that there’s a ‘palpable uneasiness’ surrounding Pfeiffer’s performance.

That uneasiness is most evident in Mr. Frears’s decision to shoot Ms. Pfeiffer almost entirely in circumspect medium and long shot, as if she were a fine jewel in a shop window rather than a flesh-and-blood woman. Yet in flattering Ms. Pfeiffer, he also ends up insulting her talent. Even a lingering close-up of her face, which is meant to reveal how Chéri suddenly sees Léa in the harsh light of day, backfires and not only because, like most Hollywood stars of her age, Ms. Pfeiffer looks all of 40. There’s something poignant about the image of this actress sitting in a pool of sunlight without a smile or trace of visible makeup. But she’s trying to reach a character that her director seems intent to keep from her grasp.

Michelle Pfeiffer looks totally glamorous in this photo of Pfeiffer, director Stephen Frears and her young lover Rupert Friend. We follow with this trailer from the movie and Michelle talking about aging at the Berlin Film Festival.

Cheri with Michelle Pfeiffer

Michelle Pfeiffer in Berlin