Love Is Strange (2014)

It is not the best film I ever saw. And of course, this is a matter of subjectivity whether what I see is a best or a worst but quality is quality and a good story is what makes a good movie most of the time. But I know I cried and I laughed with the story. I know I felt things that not often I was to feel watching a movie. I felt like I was reading a very good book with strong characters, a story with simple but real plots. A story that makes the mind floating along with and taking me to this journey that I felt I need to see the end of. And then again, the story was not strong. My guess is that the characters make the story. The characters took me alongside the story, with them through the entire movie. So... what makes this movie not so good in the end? This is something to be answered and discovered and discussed... and not something to exist as a criticism because if I felt joy and sadness watching this movie that means that, as it is, bad or good... this movie gives us an experience not many movies has to give. I say 'not many' because I don't know if there is another movie out there to deliver what this movie delivers. I tend to think that it might be the only movie to give such a fine experience of love, truth and music. Ten starts for not such a good movie; that is for the use of music.I know this much: if a movie combines the language of music in fine quality with the images then that is a movie to be seen.

It's quite a long time since seeing a film so evidently intended for the thinking and a film so much of its age.While it might be easy to categorise this as a film about Gay Love, Marriage and the consequences, that would be a serious mistake as those themes are almost incidental, the important themes are much wider, the circularity of life and love, growing up, family and generations.What was interesting to me was what was NOT said or shown, like a good book you need to read between the lines.Finally a word about the score - sumptuous.Any lover of Chopin will feel the hair on the back of their necks, particularly at the final Berceuse with orchestral arrangement, which flows like the ripple of evening waves up and down a deserted beach - music at its most ...musical.

For a moment I thought I might be crazy, that I was the only one who thought "Love Is Strange" was problematic, to put it mildly. Indeed, the professional reviews nearly all saw the film through the prism of DOMA and forgave any flaws in plot or narrative structure as minor details compared to the "important message" being conveyed. Fortunately some reviewers here restored my faith in my own sanity by pointing out that unless a movie makes some sense, has some internal logic, it's unlikely to convey much of a message at all.But first, let me say that Alfred Molina is terrific as the music teacher whose firing sets the wheels in motion for the rest of the picture. He is witty, charming, and utterly believable in his role. John Lithgow, while a very good actor, simply chews the scenery, often in an annoying an boorish fashion. Marisa Tomei makes the most of her screen time, and even though her relationship with her husband is obviously strained the audience is left to guess why.We are left to guess at many things about this film. Why do Ben and George feel the need to tie the knot after so many years together? Why is George so obtuse as to fail to see the consequences? He is clearly an intelligent and sensitive fellow, but in this, the most decisive act he is clueless? Makes no sense to me.It's telling that Ben and George could live together -- happily one presumes -- with their relative in Poughkeepsie. But they would rather impose on their friends/relatives in the city. Okay, there's no movie if they move to Poughkeepsie, but there's an unspoken snobbery here too. Better to sleep on couches and bunk beds apart in the city than together in #&$@-ing Poughkeepsie!

"Life has its obstacles but I learnt early on they will be lessoned with honesty." Ira Sach's begins and ends his feature with the music of Frederic Chopin, it's an exquisite piece of music and sets the tone for the film.Love is Strange is a New York story about George and Ben played by Molina and Lithgow who decide to get married. George is a music teacher in a catholic school and Ben is an artist. They have been together for approximately forty years, they are comfortable, living in a spacious apartment in Manhattan, then suddenly George is sacked from his job as a music teacher at the Saint Grace Academy. The ageless John Corbett as the Head Priest represents the hypocrisy of the catholic church. "it's important that you don't question your faith" George a catholic is told. Suddenly their lives are in free-fall, close family and friends come on board to support what at first appears to be a temporary arrangement. The apartment with a mortgage and taxes attached is sold for a massive profit of 17,500 the couple begin looking for a new apartment to live in. This becomes progressively more problematic in a competitive market and a strict budget. Seventy-one year old Ben goes to live with his nephew Elliot and his writer wife Kate (Tomei). He sleeps on a bunk bed shared with the couples moody teenage son Joey (Charlie Tahan) whilst George stays with gay friends in the downstairs apartment, who happen to be cops and seem to have a party ever second night. Tensions begin to rise, as the impositions of time and personal space takeover. A conversation between the chatty Ben and the frustrated Kate ends when he tells the exasperated writer, "I can't really work if there is someone else around," which signifies the underlying tensions within this claustrophobic space.The film is simply shot, little camera flourishes are on display, shot largely inside the homes and the streets of Manhattan Sachs creates a rich tapestry of complex human characters, his camera lingers stationary on his performers, for long periods to ensure he captures what is going on inside their heads. The strength of the film is in the script and performances. It will be hard to find a more sharply observed and well written script this year. Molina and Lithgow are wonderful together, see their duet "You've got what it takes" but the whole ensemble are simply terrific, Charlie Tahan as Joey is a young actor to watch.