It is the director's second English-language film, and stars Michael Caine and Harvey Keitel as best friends who reflect on their lives while holidaying in the Swiss Alps.

Fred is a retired composer of classical music; at the hotel, he is approached by an emissary for Queen Elizabeth II, conferring a knighthood and asking him to perform his popular piece "Simple Song #3" at Prince Philip's birthday concert.

The emissary returns, and Lena cries as Fred explains that he won't perform "Simple Song #3" because the soprano part belongs only to his wife and she can no longer sing.

Interspersed throughout the film are surreal sequences, including a levitating monk, an imagined Paloma Faith music video, Jimmy dressed as Adolf Hitler, Fred conducting a field of cowbells, and Mick envisioning all his previous leading ladies on a mountaintop (including Brenda, in her new unglamorous TV role).

[9] David Lang contributed in composing the film's music, including the piece "Simple Song #3" that is fictionally performed for Queen Elizabeth at the end.

The scene was shot with soprano Sumi Jo, violinist Viktoria Mullova, the BBC Concert Orchestra, and the Berlin Radio Choir.

The site's consensus reads, "Gorgeously filmed and beautifully acted, Youth offers an enticing – albeit flawed – opportunity to witness an impressive array of seasoned veterans combining their cinematic might.

"[21] Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter called the film "a voluptuary's feast, a full-body immersion in the sensory pleasures of the cinema", and praised Caine and Keitel's performances.

[22] Jay Weissberg of Variety described it as Sorrentino's "most tender film to date, an emotionally rich contemplation of life's wisdom gained, lost, and remembered".

[23] In more mixed reviews, Robbie Collin of The Telegraph described the film as "gorgeous but chilly" and said it "never grasps its central theme",[24] while Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian said it "has a wan eloquence and elegance, though freighted with sentimentality and a strangely unearned and uninteresting macho-geriatric regret for lost time.