'The Face of Love': Falling for a doppelganger

Back in the 20th century, there was an unwritten consensus of sorts that actors and actresses over a certain age should not be involved in heavyweight love scenes. But over the last decade, veteran performers have been cast in romantic comedies of all kinds, with or without garments. Fifty is the new 30 — and so is 70! And now 56-year-old Annette Bening pairs off with 64-year-old Ed Harris in "The Face of Love," the kind of genuinely sappy love story they used to make.

This film is a cinematic act of faith. The promise of love and romance still holds, regardless of old age, even as the younger generation seems less interested. Indeed, when Bening's character Nikki — widowed for five years — tells her adult daughter Summer (Jess Weixler) that she's still not over her husband Garret's (Ed Harris) death because "he was the love of my life," Summer looks at her mom like she's turned into an alien. And when Nikki starts dating Tom (also played by Harris), a man who looks exactly like Garret, Summer freaks out.

There's a whiff of horror here, enhanced by the presence of the late Robin Williams, playing Roger — Garret's best friend and Nikki's admirer, who's always lurking about the place. A bit scary.