The Face of Love (2014)

I just came across this this lazy Sunday afternoon here in sunny old Blighty! From the description, and the actors in it, it seemed to be a movie worth watching.To be honest, I didn't concentrate on it 100% because I was doing some stuff on my laptop at the same time but I saw most of it. The concept was very interesting and I felt the casting was very good BUT it's definitely a flawed movie. The whole concept of this widowed woman having lost her soulmate husband 5 years previously and then spotting a man who seems to look identical to her late husband, and then embarking on a relationship with him in which, of course, she doesn't reveal to him that the reason she finds him so entrancing is because he's a dead ringer for her late husband, is pretty preposterous! For one thing, if a grieving spouse, or partner, years later met someone who looked identical to their dearly departed soulmate wouldn't they at least want to find out whether that person was a twin and, if so, wouldn't they then want to know why they were never told about the twin by their deceased partner?? So, I was puzzled as to whether Tom was someone who actually really did look identical to her late husband OR whether she was so unstable from trying to come to terms with her late husband's death that she imagined that he was either identical to her husband or perhaps some sort of reincarnation of him, even though he may not have resembled him (if you get what I mean!). Then, of course, there was the scene where the daughter turns up unexpectedly at her mum's house and sees Tom for the first time and freaks out, so that meant that yes, in fact Tom did actually look like the spitting image of her late father. I found Robin Williams's character, Roger, to be very moving and sad. He wanted more than friendship but she, of course, wasn't interested in that and just wanted to be friends. I'm not sure whether I found this so sad because that can be a sad situation in real life, or whether it was because I found Robin himself so good in that role and also because it was one of his last roles, so that was making me sad too.Ultimately, as others have noted, the ending was VERY rushed and passed in the blink of an eye, almost literally! I looked down at my keyboard briefly and when I looked up all of a sudden she was in the art gallery being told by a woman that Tom had died and then she was told that yes, he'd done all of the paintings in the last year or so (presumably since the relationship ended) and then she was shown to the painting he had done of her. Then the next thing you know she's swimming in her pool, towards the camera and then she surfaces and is beaming elatedly, looking as if a huge weight has been lifted off her shoulders and she's regained her youthfulness again. Strange ! ! You would think she would have been very saddened by Tom's death not so elated and blissful looking - very, very odd! So, god only knows why she would have been so happy at the end. If that had been me I would have felt awful about having misled Tom about the reason for being with him and I would have felt horrible that he had died ill and alone. Perhaps the fact that Tom had been so creative in the run-up to his death, and had painted that picture of her, had fed into her ego and made her feel worthy and super special !!Anyway, at least this movie was thought provoking and not as horribly predictable and run-of-the-mill as most of the movies that Hollywood churns out. Also the casting was very good. Oh, and I see that one reviewer commented that Ed Harris was not leading man material and they rabbited on about his bald spot and the pattern of it . . . how weird ! ! I'm assuming that person was a man who has no idea why Ed Harris is so salivated over by so many women. No, he's not 'perfect' looking (whatever that is), he's a mature guy and he may be short in stature, but he is very sexy anyway. Clearly, some people think sexiness is all about looks - any intelligent person knows that's not the case at all! Ed Harris is YUMMY, short height, ageing skin, bald spot and all ! !

The average film-goer can attest to the fact that there have been quite a few films dealing with love. Whether it's sappy love stories, love triangles, 'love' has always been a pretty popular (and reliable, for executives) topic. The Face of Love, however, puts a new spin on this familiar theme.Nikki, played by the ever-wonderful Annette Bening, is a widow. Her husband Garret (Ed Harris) drowned and she's been in mourning ever since. She's been able to confide in her neighbor (Robin Williams), but she mostly lives alone. Then one day, she visits the art gallery she'd often go to with her husband and she sees a man (again Ed Harris) who looks just like him. Nikki is astonished. She goes to the gallery a few more times to wait for him, but he doesn't show. She does discover his name is Tom, googles him and finds out he's an art teacher at a local college. They meet and while she's understandably overwhelmed at first, they soon form a relationship that, while important to her, makes it impossible for her to show him to anyone who knew the 'old' Garret.By far the best thing about The Face of Love is the acting. Bening and Harris give stellar performances. Bening conveys just how much she needs this 'resurrected' Garret. Look no further than the scene where she first meets him in his art class to witness a small acting masterclass! Harris too is able to convey a lot of tenderness. Easily one of the more versatile actors in all of Hollywood.Now, the story is where things get interesting. The film makes a convincing case for Nikki's predicament. You understand her grief and that she can't easily let go of this man who looks and sounds just like her Garret. Again, Bening's acting helps immensely. However, the plot simply takes too long to get where it wants to go. There's no way in hell a story like this has a happy ending. It's not a fantasy where she ends up living happily ever after with her 'new' Garret. The fantasy has to end and there has to be a breaking point, where Tom discovers Nikki's true motivation behind seeing him. Getting there is where the film stumbles. Between Nikki meeting Tom and the ending, there are two types of scenes: those where Nikki revels in the fantasy that her beloved Garret is back and those where she either has doubts or has to hide him from her daughter and neighbor. It's the constant alternating that gives the film a sense of aimlessness and I eventually wanted desperately for the film to just reach its final destination.Despite these structural inadequacies, this is one of those cases where the acting makes it all worthwhile in the end. I'm not sure if great acting can completely save a film, but Bening and Harris come pretty darn close.My thoughts on the ending: I had very conflicting feelings about the ending. When Tom realizes Nikki doesn't really love him for who he is, they decide to break up. A year or so later, Nikki gets a message that Tom has died and she visits the wake where his art is also displayed. She then sees the painting he was working on while he was with her which is called The Face of Love. We then see her swimming inside her backyard pool (the one that always reminded her of Garret and how he drowned), but this time she feels comfortable swimming in it. We get a shot of her coming up for air close to the camera before she goes back under the water. There's a sense of her having come to terms with Garret's death and that she's finally ready to 'move on' as they say.While this is all very nice and all, what made me feel slightly uncomfortable was the fact that this was paired with Tom's death. Just like Nikki never told him the truth about his resemblance to Garret (which is understandable), he never told her about his fatal illness (also understandable). So, Tom dies, Nikki has a therapeutic revelation and becomes a new woman so to speak. But what about Tom? He was again unsuccessful in love and dies alone, his death becoming the instrument through which Nikki has her breakthrough. I found it personally a bit tough to revel in Nikki's happy ending (as it felt like it was presented as such), when it's paired with such sadness: Yeah, Tom dies miserable and alone, but hey, at least Nikki's all right. Anyway, that's my two cents.

I just saw this movie last night off Showtime, and while I can commend the performances of the actors, all of whom I've admired their work over the years, I'm on the fence on this movie. It's basically a glorified soap opera, perhaps along the lines of a lot of Euro-films- especially French films..?? Annette Bening stars in what I see is actually based on the true story of a woman who meets a man with a striking resemblance to her late husband (Ed Harris). In the meantime, her neighbor (Robin Williams, in what I'm guessing was one of a handful of his last films-??) has a thing for her, but she's not into him. This has got to be the closest thing to a soap opera I've ever seen Williams in I must say. This movie really could've just been some Lifetime TV movie, again had it not been for the performances of it's stars. Amy Brenneman co-stars.

Along with 'The Angriest Man In Brooklin' this is an example of a film that Robin Williams made late in his life that was released straight to DVD (in the UK at least).I think it is one that is well worth seeking out though because although Robin only plays a supporting role, he says so much through his lovely characterisation and facial expressions that you really believe in his character of Roger.Annette Benning and Ed Harris are the ones that really carry the film though and although the ending is perhaps a little rushed, the rest of the film is an engaging and interesting love story.So overall although the cover of the DVD (I can only vouch for the UK edition) will lead you to believe that Robin Williams is in it a lot more than he is, the film itself is well worth watching.