Book of Love (2003)

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BOOK OF LOVE is one of those first time films that becomes an "Official Selection" for The Sundance Festival and then goes to DVD.Alan Brown wrote and directed his feature.His aspirations,according to the very short interview on the DVD,was to examine why "good people do bad things" and not make a judgment.Well...there was the first judgment right out of his mouth when he used the definite terms "good" and "bad".Secondly he tries to integrate the true life events surrounding the famous Mary Kay LeTourneau teacher-having-sex-with-underage-student tabloid with the Khmer Rouge of Cambodia in the characters of Elaine and David who irresponsibly become over-involved with an underaged boy....None of this works in the least. IndieWIRE says that this film is "...Deliciously creepy." Yeah,they're right.At 83 minutes with that "indie looking film-look and that Indie soundtrack" this film tries way too hard to make points that simply do not connect.The characters do not work.The plot is disconnected and the talents of Frances O'Connor,Simon Baker,Gregory Smith and Bryce Dallas Howard....well,I think Simon Baker tries...kinda? I commend SUNDANCE and their vision.Some films that rise from SUNDANDCE are wonderful.This is not one of them.
The DVD packaging has "3+1/2 stars...The performances are terrific." from [...]! I rest my case.PASS....
You will know Frances O'Connor from Mansfield Park; Simon Baker from [[ASIN:B00003CY5S The Affair of the Necklace; Gregory Smith from The Patriot (Special Edition) and Bryce Dallas Howard from The Village (Widescreen Vista and [[ASIN:B000JLTR8Q Lady in the Water (Widescreen Edition)Series)]]. Everyone of these actors are at least 6 years older than the parts they are portraying.It looks like it! January 25, 2008

HIGH ASPIRATIONS - MIXED DELIVERY

I'm always drawn to complicated love, and despite some reviewers' below, the storyline is less plausible than many would say. It's more of an issue of one bad choice leading to another, then another, even when one is trying to correct the initial mistake with good intent. The problem is that few of us know ourselves and our suppressed desires very well, even the smarter of us... especially when sex and power are part of the stew.

The film falters most because it only hits highlights of a crisis, and, thus, these come off as seeming artsy or forced, or student-filmish, but still admirable, nonetheless (especially when compared to the crap mainstream Hollywood dispenses every weekend). For instance, the Cambodian theme never gels into focus; it seems well-intended and pregnant, but never more than that, and when Chet winds up there in the end, it does not ring true.

A lot does ring true, and for this the director and cast should be applauded. Simon Baker does a good turn at elucidating the ties between his sexuality and his aggression, as felt for both his wife, and the youth; the tussle in the hotel room is as telling for him as it is for the viewer. I like Frances O'Connor's turn a lot, and found her totally believable until the very end. Her character is probably the most honest in the film, while having made the bigger mistake initially.

A NOTE TO CURRENT FILMMAKERS: please spare us your favorite music supervisor skills! Every frame does not need some rock-pop overly-instructive pap smeared over it. What happened to SCORING???? To silence??? Go rent an early Bertolucci film if you have forgotten or don't know. That almost ruined this film, as it has many in the past ten years. No, I dont want to buy the frigging soundtrack!


April 17, 2007

Didn't Buy the Storyline.

There were far too many situations in this film that were simply ridiculous. First, I didn't buy the idea of a wife openly flirting with a 15-year-old without her husband having a clue. Is he an idiot, blind, or so trusting that he is incapable of seeing what's in front of him? And what about the wife? Where was the chemistry between her and the boy? I didnt 'see it. And the trip to Dsneyworld (which other reviewers describe in great detail below, so I won't) was absurd. Why would the wife or the 15-year-old, who are both feeling quite guilty, go to Disneyworld at the insistence of the husband, especially when the discomfort between the three is so thick you could cut it with a knife? I don't think the writer/director of this film did a good job of constructing a believable story. The actors were good, but capable of salvaging this silly story only to a limited degree. Not at all recommended. January 8, 2007

pointless and trite

Several aspects of the movie go nowhere and it seems odd that they are included at all. The tie-in with Cambodia and the sappy folk music themes make you think you're watching a (very dated) student film project. It tries to make a statement, but the points don't converge.
The scene at the bathroom sink after the husband learns of the the affair is sure strange. I guess it conveys that he is taking her back and punishing her at the same time. Really a crude clip.
Rather than expanding on the conflict and showing attempts to work through it, the film simply goes off on other tangents.

When a movie ends and I say to myself "is that it?" I have to think I've wasted my time. January 30, 2006

bland, insipid, pointless and pretentious

This flick naivishly glorifies infidelity and portrays a skewed, contemptible version of human relationships in a bland, insipid fashion. It redundantly mulls over a menage a trois, a concept that has been done to death by every genre of alt cinema around the globe, in an incredibly heartless and dispassionate manner.

It also fails to capture the subtle impacts of human emotions of the male characters, but prods along in an absolutely insensitive manner. The movie merely concentrates on the feminine perspective and doesnt detail the impact of the wife's infidelity on her husband's emotional psyche either. It could even be termed utterly dishonest, purely due to the injustice it does to the poor, innocent husband's character.

This is one of the few movies, where I liked absolutely nothing. I even found something worthwhile in the sexually deviant Cronenberg's flick - Crash - but this one utterly a waste of time. December 8, 2005

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