"Love Liza" is about the impact his wife's suicide has on one Wilson Joel, played by Philip Seymour Hoffman. Unfortunately, writer/director Gordy Hoffman (Philip's brother) fails to recognize that in order for this to have any relevance to the audience, we are going to have to know something about the pair before the suicide. As it is, we know nothing, and what we learn throughout the film doesn't generate much more than a sense of tedium.
SPOILERS WITHIN!!!
I sensed trouble early in the film when Wilson's mother-in-law, played by Kathy Bates, finds him sleeping in his car. The camera lingers endlessly on son and mother-in-law's reflections in the car mirror, signifying the mirror images of their grief. It seems like an amateur filmmaker's attempt to present a profound image.
We then watch throughout the film as Wilson refuses to read his wife's suicide note but holds on to it as a kind of obsession. His grief takes him over, and he is soon addicted to sniffing gasoline. Yes, sniffing gasoline. He attempts to explain his need for it to the gas station attendant by claiming to use it for his model airplanes. Somehow the attendant is sceptical. As time drones on, Wilson fails to live up to his work responsibilities and sinks further and further into his addiction. After his house is robbed, he breaks into his mother-in-law's home and finds his belongings there. She, in a shell-shocked state, has at last opened and read the suicide note, which really doesn't say much of anything. However, by reading it himself, Wilson is able to put his misery behind him, which he does by burning down his house and walking off onto the highway. Again, an amateurish metaphor.
Incredibly, the film clocks in at only 93 minutes as it covers a few weeks in the life of Wilson Joel. It seems interminable, and you might find yourself wondering if another month's bills are due by the time it is over.
Philip Seymour Hoffman has established a successful career as a character actor on stage and screen over the past few years, and one can certainly understand why he would want to branch out and carry a film on his own. One can only wish him better luck next time. His performance here is fairly monotonous, although that could easily owe more to the material than to his work. The usually magnificent Bates fares no better. Only Jack Kehler makes a positive impression as Wilson's friend Denny.
I do not see much love in the future for "Love Liza".
SPOILERS WITHIN!!!
I sensed trouble early in the film when Wilson's mother-in-law, played by Kathy Bates, finds him sleeping in his car. The camera lingers endlessly on son and mother-in-law's reflections in the car mirror, signifying the mirror images of their grief. It seems like an amateur filmmaker's attempt to present a profound image.
We then watch throughout the film as Wilson refuses to read his wife's suicide note but holds on to it as a kind of obsession. His grief takes him over, and he is soon addicted to sniffing gasoline. Yes, sniffing gasoline. He attempts to explain his need for it to the gas station attendant by claiming to use it for his model airplanes. Somehow the attendant is sceptical. As time drones on, Wilson fails to live up to his work responsibilities and sinks further and further into his addiction. After his house is robbed, he breaks into his mother-in-law's home and finds his belongings there. She, in a shell-shocked state, has at last opened and read the suicide note, which really doesn't say much of anything. However, by reading it himself, Wilson is able to put his misery behind him, which he does by burning down his house and walking off onto the highway. Again, an amateurish metaphor.
Incredibly, the film clocks in at only 93 minutes as it covers a few weeks in the life of Wilson Joel. It seems interminable, and you might find yourself wondering if another month's bills are due by the time it is over.
Philip Seymour Hoffman has established a successful career as a character actor on stage and screen over the past few years, and one can certainly understand why he would want to branch out and carry a film on his own. One can only wish him better luck next time. His performance here is fairly monotonous, although that could easily owe more to the material than to his work. The usually magnificent Bates fares no better. Only Jack Kehler makes a positive impression as Wilson's friend Denny.
I do not see much love in the future for "Love Liza".