Expansive age gaps depicted on TV and film are nothing new. In fact, so often do we see older male characters dating women who could feasibly be their daughters, that audiences fail to even notice the chasm in years separating them.
However, turn that norm on its head and portray an older woman dating a younger man and you’ve got yourself a talking point. Or rather, a taboo. It’s the reason being dubbed a ‘Mrs Robinson’ is code for this situation, despite The Graduate being released over 50 years ago.
This imbalance is why BBC One’s new dramatic thriller, Gold Digger, is so crucial. The six-part series stars Julia Ormond as Julia, a 60-year-old divorcee and mum of three, and Ben Barnes as Benjamin, an enigmatic man 25 years her junior who she embarks on a relationship with. The show, described by the BBC as a ‘domestic noir’ encourages viewers to evaluate the relationship, regarded by many an unusual, and in doing so challenge the way we’ve been conditioned to feel.
“We are so used to seeing older men with younger women in film and television, and indeed in politics and real life. It’s barely commented on, however yawning the age gap. Yet flip the genders and suddenly it’s a discussion point. As if it’s impossible to understand why a younger man might be attracted to an older woman without having some other motive,” said the show’s creator and writer Marnie Dickens.
“Gold Digger explores this taboo. By getting under the skin of each character, understanding why they either reject or accept the romance, hopefully the audience will feel they’ve been shown multiple viewpoints and then reach their own conclusion.”
The series begins with Julia receiving divorce papers from her long-time husband and father of her three kids, Ted (Alex Jennings) and simultaneously meeting a handsome and interesting stranger (Benjamin) at a museum.
As their romance blossoms, Julia and Benjamin are met with intense questioning from her three children Patrick (Sebastian Armesto), Della (Jemima Rooper) and Leo (Archie Renaux) who come to the conclusion Benjamin is after one thing – their mum’s money.
Struggling to accept the relationship, or the possibility of their mum existing outside of the world they’ve previously lived in, the children push against Julia and further strain their already damaged bond.
“What attracted me to the story is the way that it’s provocative and it challenges us in terms of how we see women who have devoted their life to motherhood – then what do they do when that phase is sort of coming to an end. To Julia’s children there is a sense that Benjamin is a threat to their inheritance and a feeling that there is something off about him but it’s founded in this disbelief that he could genuinely love her,” Julia Ormond explained.
“So each episode unpacks this, looking at the preconceived ideas about how women should be with men. Despite the fact that we’re very used to seeing older men with much younger women, to see the reverse throws into sharp relief our societal expectations of women. One would think it should not be that inconceivable but at the same time something does feel off…” she added.
As the series continues, we learn more about the trauma that has put a wedge between the Day family and the past events that have made Benjamin the mysterious man he is today. As the truth reveals itself, the assumptions audiences may have made about Julia and Benjamin’s relationship – and their age difference – are called into question.
“There is something quite extraordinary about the way Marnie has written the impact of trauma on this family. There is something about trauma and how people deal with it in their lives that has a long-term effect and impact on their ability to love, love themselves and love someone else,” Julia said.
BBC
Ultimately, the series explains why a family has fractured and lies have been told but always retains the message that Julia is her own person and deserves the freedom to make choices that are right for her, despite spending a whole life devoted to others.
“This story is beautifully revealing of how we pigeonhole people, how we write them off and how we close off certain aspects of their life because we see them as fitting a specific role. We decide what someone means to us, what they give to and provide for us and we want them to stay there, perpetually frozen in that role and not have other avenues of their life explored,” Julia added.
Gold Digger is, then, a long-overdue conversation starter about the expectations we place on women and how we can collectively re-train ourselves to ditch them. Of course, taboos are hard to banish, but story telling like this is an important step in the right direction.
Gold Digger starts at 9pm on 12 November on BBC One.
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