Love (2015)
Director: Gaspar Noé
Stars: Aomi Muyock, Karl Glusman, Klara KristinRuntime: 135 minutes
Synopsis: Murphy is an American living in Paris who enters a highly sexually and emotionally charged relationship with the unstable Electra. Unaware of the effect it will have on their relationship, they invite their pretty neighbor into their bed.
Performances: 8/10
Screenplay: 7/10
Editing: 9/10
Cinematography: 9/10
Score/Soundtrack: 9/10
Screenplay: 7/10
Editing: 9/10
Cinematography: 9/10
Score/Soundtrack: 9/10
Verdict: Gaspar Noé may be one of the most controversial directors working today. But whether you love him or hate him, one thing that defines his movies is the fact that no matter how you feel about them, they'll stick with you forever. And "Love" definitely is no exception to that rule.
Right off the bat, I have to confess that I am an admirer of Noé's work. His unfiltered look at life is one that I find fascinating on so many levels, and the way he presents them is to me nothing short of extraordinary. The theme he tackles in "Love" is, as delivered by the main character of Murphy (named after the famous law by the same name), sentimental sexuality, or in other words the boundaries set by sexual freedom in an emotional relationship and their consequences. As expected from Noé, the film is beautifully shot, magnificently edited, and elevated by a bewitching score that truly stood out as almost a character of itself. And as expected from Noé, the film contains a lot of provoking imagery, which include an uncomfortable amount of unsimulated sex scenes, that don't always feel necessary but do contribute to the film's raw approach to its main subject. The issues I have with the movie never really took me out of it, but sometimes did result in some pacing problems. The script, which according to the French director was only 7 pages long and which properly expanded on the topic at play, did however at times feel underdeveloped and lacking. The use of narration and odd meta references also didn't entirely work for me, and while the acting was mostly solid throughout the long runtime of the movie, there were a couple of scenes in which the performances were a little difficult to take seriously.
"Love" was bashed by a lot of people, and considered as one of the year's best by others, and it's easy to see why that is the case. I personally don't think that it's on par with the quality of "Enter the Void" or "Climax", but it's still certainly a project I'm glad to have experienced and even see myself revisiting at some point in time.
Right off the bat, I have to confess that I am an admirer of Noé's work. His unfiltered look at life is one that I find fascinating on so many levels, and the way he presents them is to me nothing short of extraordinary. The theme he tackles in "Love" is, as delivered by the main character of Murphy (named after the famous law by the same name), sentimental sexuality, or in other words the boundaries set by sexual freedom in an emotional relationship and their consequences. As expected from Noé, the film is beautifully shot, magnificently edited, and elevated by a bewitching score that truly stood out as almost a character of itself. And as expected from Noé, the film contains a lot of provoking imagery, which include an uncomfortable amount of unsimulated sex scenes, that don't always feel necessary but do contribute to the film's raw approach to its main subject. The issues I have with the movie never really took me out of it, but sometimes did result in some pacing problems. The script, which according to the French director was only 7 pages long and which properly expanded on the topic at play, did however at times feel underdeveloped and lacking. The use of narration and odd meta references also didn't entirely work for me, and while the acting was mostly solid throughout the long runtime of the movie, there were a couple of scenes in which the performances were a little difficult to take seriously.
"Love" was bashed by a lot of people, and considered as one of the year's best by others, and it's easy to see why that is the case. I personally don't think that it's on par with the quality of "Enter the Void" or "Climax", but it's still certainly a project I'm glad to have experienced and even see myself revisiting at some point in time.
FINAL GRADE: 8/10
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