I was very excited to see this film. The idea of a mature gay couple finally able to get married and then that act causing one of them to lose his job is an all too common occurrence, especially for those employed in religious education. As the movie began and the film got going, I was very intrigued, particularly when they lost their apartment and were forced, by their desire to stay in Manhattan, to live apart with friends/family. However, that's when the movie started to go awry. We were introduced to several minor characters who never get fully developed. Some disappear altogether(Harriet Harris), some virtually disappear (Christina Kirk), some lack all sense of development (Cheyenne Jackson and Manny Perez), and then there is the family unit of Marissa Tomei and her husband, and their son and his friend Vlad. I am realistic enough to understand that not everything in life gets tied up neatly in a little bow, but this film left too many questions unanswered. The parents had a clear rift in their relationship that implied infidelity on the part of the husband, yet we never discovered if that was true or what happened to them. There was clearly something between their son and Vlad whether it be sexual, drug related, etc. Again, that is never resolved for us, in spite of a very confusing situation concerning stolen books that made me think we were building to some kind of climactic resolution...and then nothing. Knowing that the writer also directed the piece, this is a prime example of why that is often a bad idea. Maybe another director could have gotten a little more perspective and distance and kept this film from being as A.D.D. as it felt to me, especially the ending, which felt very abrupt as if they ran out of time and had to quickly shoot the final two scenes. All in all, fine performances by the lead actors, and the framework of a film that, in other hands, might have been a much more moving and successful piece. (Final thought, no movie needs a three minute single shot of a kid crying in a stairwell. There is moving and then there is emotional masturbation. This is the latter.)
Review of Love Is Strange
