Richard Gere and Diana Silvers have been photographed filming their age-gap romance, Asymmetry, in New York, and the internet has done what it usually does when a movie asks viewers to consider a 48-year difference: it has formed opinions at speed.
Gere, 76, best known to many viewers for Pretty Woman and American Gigolo, was seen with his arms around Silvers, 28, while shooting scenes for the upcoming adaptation of Lisa Halliday’s acclaimed novel. In footage from the New York set, the pair appear close as Gere leans in toward the Booksmart actor for a kiss.
Why the casting has started a debate
The reaction has been swift because the premise is not exactly subtle. Asymmetry follows a young editorial assistant, Alice, and a much older literary figure, Ezra, after a chance encounter turns into a private relationship with consequences for both of them.
The story has long carried real-world interest because readers drew comparisons between Halliday’s novel and her own past relationship with author Philip Roth, who was 45 years older than her when they dated. Halliday has not presented the book as a simple tell-all, but the parallels have always hovered around it, politely refusing to leave the room.
Barack Obama also helped raise the book’s profile when he named it one of his favourite reads of 2018. That kind of endorsement tends to move a novel from literary circles into the wider conversation, which is now where the film adaptation finds itself.
