Aging and immortality in Ron Howard's Cocoon

Cocoon (Howard, 1985) is a 1985 Sci-Fi/Fantasy genre film directed by Ron Howard, who previously directed such films as Splash and Night Shift. Benefitting from the kindly type of aliens previously seen in E.T.: The Extraterrestrial and Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Cocoon used the advanced technologies of benevolent aliens to explore aging and the pros/cons of reversing that process. Aided by a veteran cast and superior editing/special effects, Cocoon became a hit film.

General Theme/Overview, Style, Plot and Character Development

The general theme is the exploration of aging and the pros/cons of reversing the process, using the style of Sci-Fi/Fantasy. The plot involves the extraordinary results of humans interacting with kindly, advanced aliens, and the dilemmas caused by those results. Thousands of years ago, aliens from Antarea lived on the island of Atlantis on Earth. The island sank and 20 Antareans stayed behind so other Antareans would have enough life force to return to their planet. These Antareans are now awaiting rescue in pods on the sunken island. Four rescuer Antareans return to Earth disguised as humans, retrieve the cocoons and store them in a pool within a rented house in a Florida town. The pool is infused with a strong life force so the cocooned Antareans will have enough life force to return to Antarea. A few elderly residents of next-door retirement sneak into the pool, not knowing of its special powers. After swimming in the pool, these residents regain much of their youthful vigor and abilities. They keep sneaking into the pool and are eventually caught by an Antarean, who allows them to continue using the pool. The conflict between the pro- youth and anti-youth elderly leads to an altercation in which one of the pro-youth men blurts out the secrets of the next-door pool. Elderly residents swarm to the pool, exhausting its life force. The Antareans are forced to postpone the rescue for 10,000 years, leaving empty seats on their spaceship. They offer the seats to the elderly residents, some of whom accept them because it may mean eternal youth and life; however, other elderly residents opt to stay on Earth with their loved ones, aging and dying normally. Character development is particularly striking for the elderly residents who first use the pool's life force. They go from classically aged people living boring, limited lives to young, vital beings who enjoy youthful sex lives, ballroom dancing, Olympic diving and break dancing, and are willing to explore the prospect of eternal youth and life by flying to Antarea.

Effects of Set Design, Costumes, Makeup and Acting

The set design, costumes, makeup and acting all enhanced the viewing experience. Set design, particularly contrasting the subdued atmosphere of the retirement home with the light-infused atmosphere of the neighboring house's pool room, show the differences in life force and sets up the audience for a different attitude in each of those milieus: the audience experiences the subdued, ho-hum existence of the retirement home and otherworldly youth, vigor and possibility of the pool room. Costumes also enhance the viewing experience: the elderly residents' drab clothing gives the audience a "feel" for their subdued, ho-hum lives; Don Ameche's costumes make him a natty elderly gentleman even before he is transformed; the Antarean costumes show how well they adopted "normal" Earthling appearance, until they remove those costumes and appear as their striking, light-infused selves. Makeup enhances the viewing experience by initially showing the elderly residents as drab, aged people; then, post-revitalization, the elderly residents to have a mysterious vigor and lightness, particularly in contrast to the elderly residents who have not used the pool and still appear drab and aged. Finally, the acting probably provided the greatest enhancement of the film. Don Ameche, Hume Cronyn, Jessica Tandy, Maureen Stapleton, Wilford Brimley, Jack Gilford, Gwen Verdon and Brian Dennehy were talented veteran actors who obviously knew and inhabited their material. They cumulatively represented several hundred years of award-winning acting experience in a single film. Steve Guttenberg's acting also enhanced the film, as he comes across as a likeable, curious, comical character who is first awestruck by the undressed Antareans, then "dives into" an affair with one of them.

Conclusion

The 1985 hit film, Cocoon, explored aging and the pros/cons of reversing the aging process. Directed by veteran director, Ron Howard, the film used exceptional quick cuts, trick shots, stunt men, editing/special effects, set design, costumes, makeup and acting to make a memorable and popular viewing experience. Though the special effects are now dated, the film continues to be occasionally aired on commercial television and is notable for its touching, humorous and insightful exploration of aging.