While We're Young

Josh and Cornelia, mid-40s married couple in Brooklyn. Josh documentary filmmaker stuck on project for decade. Friends having babies. They feel old, stagnant. Life passing them by while accomplishing nothing.

Josh to students: "Documentary is about finding truth." Theme of authenticity vs. performance, generational differences, and what matters more: process or success, truth or narrative.

Josh teaches documentary film. Cornelia produces for father, famous documentarian. No children. Friends with babies drift away. Feeling left behind. Marriage routine. Creative life stalled. Midlife crisis brewing.

Meet Jamie and Darby, young hipster couple. Jamie aspiring documentarian, fan of Josh work. They befriend older couple. Energy, enthusiasm. Josh feels alive again. Connection to youth and possibility.

Should Josh and Cornelia embrace this friendship or recognize age difference? Jamie seems sincere. Takes them to hip-hop class, retro activities. They feel young. But is it authentic or performance? Questions about motives.

Josh and Cornelia fully embrace young couple lifestyle. Ditching old friends. Taking ayahuasca. Josh reinvigorated. Enters world of borrowed youth. Jamie working on own documentary. Mentorship developing. New energy.

Josh and Jamie relationship. Josh sees younger self. Jamie learns from Josh. But Jamie is more ambitious, less precious about process. Generational mirror: Josh authentic but stalled, Jamie opportunistic but succeeding.

Double dates, parties, vomiting after ayahuasca, hip-hop dancing. Josh abandons decade-long project to help Jamie. Cornelia loves Darby energy. Promise of premise: middle-aged couple trying to recapture youth through young friends.

Jamie documentary screening. Huge success. Father-in-law impressed. False victory: Josh proud of mentee. But seeds of doubt. Jamie methods questionable. Did he stage scenes? Manipulate subjects? Success at what cost?

Josh investigates Jamie documentary. Discovers fabrications, staged moments, exploitation of subject. Confronts Jamie. Jamie defends: "Everyone performs for camera anyway." Ethics vs. results. Josh disillusioned.

Josh publicly accuses Jamie of fraud. Jamie denies. Father-in-law sides with Jamie: "The film works." Josh discredited. Cornelia angry he ruined moment. Young friends gone. Old friends alienated. Creative integrity costs everything.

Josh and Cornelia fight. He realizes chased youth because afraid of aging, failure, irrelevance. She calls him out on ego. Maybe Jamie ambitious but honest about it. Josh precious but accomplishes nothing. Painful truth.

Josh accepts he cannot be young filmmaker anymore. Different generation, different values. Cannot recapture past. Must make peace with who he is now: older, slower, maybe less successful but more genuine.

Josh finishes his decade-long documentary. Small screening. Few people care. But it is honest, complete. Cornelia supports him. Reconnect with old friends. Decide to have baby. Embrace their actual lives not performed youth.

Josh and Cornelia with newborn. Life continues. Jamie succeeds with new film. Both paths valid but different. Josh no longer chasing youth. Found peace in authenticity. Aging is not failure. Different kind of success.