Thoughts on "Seven Up" (1964)

It's not entirely fair to review Paul Almond and Michael Apted's Seven Up on it's own so take this more as some brief thoughts on the film. I say that it's not fair as the film gains a weight and poignancy when taken in concert with the other films of the "Up" documentary series (fair warning that I haven't seen any of the others ones yet). The film series stops in every seven years with the same group of people, starting from the age of seven. The first film was never made with the intention of following up with these participants. The goal was to see what the lives of children across the socioeconomic spectrum of Britain were like. While the first film isn't bad, it often times feels far too lightweight and frivolous. There's great humor and irony spun out from the questions asked about race, gender and class but it never feels as though the film really gives us a sense of who these different children are. Some are referred to by name but the film sketches in broad strokes and never really gets at the pressing question at its heart about how social class standing affects the lives of individuals. I give Seven Up the benefit of the doubt though because it is an entertaining and interesting thought experiment in action and because I can tell from just this first film how -- if done right -- the later installments will really make this film carry much more meaning and weight in hindsight.