Old Guymight be about assassins, and it might be a lighter action comedy, but it has relevance to just about everyone’s livelihood, which starChristoph Waltzis happy to articulate: “It’s always someone else who decides whether you’re useful or not, and in the long run, that cannot really suffice.”
Old Guyis about an aging hitman(Waltz) who has to train a young prodigy (Cooper Hoffman) to essentially replace him. Waltz’s character, named Danny Dolinksi, was once a prodigy himself, and is renowned in the field for his career of excellence. A recent hand injury coupled with a new initiative from his higher-ups to go with someone younger as fast as possible has put Dolinski in an awkward position.
Hoffman’s character, Wihlborg, sees no reason to listen to the old guy. He’s confident he’s already a peak performer, and the fact that the two have such completely different personalities and approaches only adds to their instant conflict. Nevertheless, they are forced to work together on a high-stakes mission accompanied by Danny’s longtime friend, Anata (Lucy Liu).
Despite the light tone of the film, Waltz sees powerful implications for how we treat those who mature in a given field. “They used to give gold watches,” says Waltz. “Why do you think they gave gold watches for retirement? They would say ‘it was very nice. Now count down the minutes until you kick off, and we don’t care.”
Liu echoes that sentiment as a reason for picking the project. “I thought that it was a very honest look at whatever career you’re in,” says Liu, “how you can be pushed out when you hit a certain age, or if you’re not as useful as you used to be.”
‘Old Guy’ Is a Tale as Old as Time, and It’s More Relevant Than Ever
Intergenerational conflicts have always existed, but they’re more prevalent in the modern era. Boomers, Gen-X, Millennials, and Gen-Z are not all on the same page, but the majority of them are in the same working class.Old Guytakes an interesting approach to this dynamic, which Waltz feels is worth investigating further:
“The way it goes down in that story is a little bit, you know, idealized and wishful thinking. I personally wish there could be more cooperation between the generations, because it would be very useful, and a lot of stupid things would maybe not happen.”
There are sure to be more and more films that focus on this type of dynamic – the coexistence of multiple generations in the same working class, and how they can collaborate and thrive together… or not.Old Guyaddresses some of these rather pressing and universal issues quite well.
