Anne Hathaway's Latest Movie Proves Why More Stories for Woman Over 40 Need To Be Told

Anne Hathaway is having a moment, not just for herself, but for every woman over the age of 40 who doesn’t feel seen or heard. Her latest movie, The Idea of You, is hitting audiences in an unexpected way — the idea that a “coming-of-age” moment can happen at any time in your life.

The storyline involves Hathaway’s character, Solène, who finds herself at 40 years old on a surprising love journey with a boy band singer Hayes, played by Nicholas Galitzine, after taking her teen daughter to Coachella. Did we mention the boy bander is 24 years old? The trailer alone set the internet on fire because the chemistry between Hathaway and Galitzine is off the charts, but it was the SXSW audiences’ reaction that moved the Oscar winner to tears.

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The 41-year-old actress spoke after the screening for a Q&A, but it was the rousing reaction that cued the waterworks. “I can’t talk,” she said while choking back tears in a video clip captured by Variety.

“I love you!” a voice shouted from the audience in support. “I love you so much,” she responded. “You have no idea the gift that you’ve just given us with your responsiveness, by being so connected to every little nuance in this. I will never forget this screening.” Hathaway had a good reason to be excited by the reaction and many women will be able to connect with what she’s saying.

“For some reason, we talk about coming-of-age stories as being something that happens to you in the earliest part of your life, and I don’t know about you, but I feel like I keep blooming,” she added. “So when Cathy [Schulman] and Gabrielle [Union] so generously offered me the part, I was thrilled to say yes.” Hathaway has openly discussed the sexism and ageism she’s faced in Hollywood where women of a certain age aren’t as appreciated as they should be.

“When I started out [in this industry] as a child, I was warned that my career would fall off a cliff at the age of 35, which is something I know a lot of women face,” she explained to Net-a-Porter last fall. “The thing that has evolved during [that time] is that more women are having careers deeper into their lives, which I think is fantastic.”

She hopes that roles, like what she portrayed in The Idea of You, help push Hollywood toward being more inclusive of women in all seasons of life. Hathaway knows that “there’s so much to be proud of and there’s so much to fix,” but she is here to change minds one movie at a time.

Before you go, click here to see all the celebrity women who have spoken out about ageism.

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