That trope is dead. Films like Good Luck to You, Leo Grande (starring an extraordinary Emma Thompson at 63) explicitly and tastefully explored a widow’s sexual reawakening. The Lost Daughter (Maggie Gyllenhaal’s directorial debut, starring Olivia Colman) explored the raw, often unflattering desires of a middle-aged woman.

have publicly criticized Hollywood's tendency to cast much younger women as wives to older men (the "James Bond" effect). Older Women and Cinema: Audiences, Stories, and Stars

Several high-profile projects have recently centered on the lived experiences of mature women: The Substance : Starring Demi Moore

: Often cited as the first female director, she began making films in 1896 and produced hundreds of narratives. Florence Lawrence

Audiences—especially women over 40 who buy the majority of movie tickets in the US—are voting with their wallets. They are tired of seeing their daughters on screen. They want to see themselves .

: In genres like horror, there is a rising trend of depicting older women as "hard," tempered by experience and trauma, making them integral to the plot rather than mere oddities.