Here’s an underrated 2014 romance that most of us didn’t get to see in theaters: The Face of Love.
Annette Bening plays a woman whose husband suddenly dies, and she is plunged into an immediate and harsh sense of loss. She goes on with her life and then is surprised to meet a man who is attracted to her. They begin to date and fast develop a serious bond. Here’s the kicker – the new boyfriend looks EXACTLY like her late husband (both are played by Ed Harris). You know that eventually he is going to find out, and that eventually her kids and friends are going to find out, and that people are going to think this is very weird. Those characters – and the audience – will wonder whether she is in love with this new man – or in love with the image of her late husband.
As one would expect, Bening and Harris both give compelling performances. The scene where the new guy asks her out on a date is especially fun. The Face of Love is a worthwhile watch.
The Face of Love is available to stream from Amazon.
PEEPING TOM, coming up on Turner Classic Movies and better than PSYCHO
Opening today, the startling documentary Art and Craftis about an art fraud. Of prolific scale. Apparently not illegal. By a diagnosed schizophrenic.
Also in theaters:
The exceptionally well-acted dramedy The Skeleton Twinscontains several inspired moments.
The smart and hilarious The Trip to Italy showcases the improvisational wit of Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon, along with some serious tourism/foodie porn.
Feedback from my readers is almost unanimous – Richard Linklater’s family dramaBoyhood is a special movie experience – and possibly the best film of the decade.
I really liked The One I Love– a relationship romance, a dark comedy and a modern day episode of The Twilight Zone rolled into one successful movie. Although it’s leaving theaters this weekend, it remains available streaming from Amazon Instant, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube, Google Play and Xbox Video.
Terry Gilliam’s sci-fi fable The Zero Theorem is visually arresting, but the story becomes tedious. Poor writing and directing sabotage the delightful performances of Alfred Molina and John Lithgow in the romantic drama Love Is Strange. I was also disappointed by the tiresome Frank Miller’s Sin City: A Dame to Kill For.
This week’s DVD/Stream of the Week is this year’s outstanding coming of age movie Very Good Girls starring the fine young actresses Dakota Fanning and Elizabeth Olsen. Very Good Girls is available on DVD from Netflix and streaming from Amazon Instant, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube, Google Play and Xbox Video.
On October 4, Turner Classic Movies brings us what may be the best-ever psycho serial killer movie, Peeping Tom from 1960, the same year as Psycho. The British film critics didn’t know what to make of a thriller where the protagonist was so disturbing, and they trashed Peeping Tom so badly that its great director Michael Powell (The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, Stairway to Heaven, Black Narcissus, The Red Shoes) wasn’t able to work again in the UK. But I think Peeping Tom is an overlooked masterpiece and even better than its iconic counterpart.
And on October 5, TCM broadcasts Cool Hand Luke, with Paul Newman as an iconic 1960s anti-hero, a charismatic supporting performance by George Kennedy, the unforgettable boiled egg-eating contest and the great movie line” What we have here is a failure to communicate”.
The exceptionally well-acted dramedy The Skeleton Twinscontains several inspired moments.
Also in theaters:
The smart and hilarious The Trip to Italy showcases the improvisational wit of Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon, along with some serious tourism/foodie porn.
Feedback from my readers is almost unanimous – Richard Linklater’s family dramaBoyhood is a special movie experience – and possibly the best film of the decade.
I really liked The One I Love– a relationship romance, a dark comedy and a modern day episode of The Twilight Zone rolled into one successful movie. Although it’s leaving theaters this weekend, it remains available streaming from Amazon Instant, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube, Google Play and Xbox Video.
Terry Gilliam’s sci-fi fable The Zero Theorem is visually arresting, but the story becomes tedious. Poor writing and directing sabotage the delightful performances of Alfred Molina and John Lithgow in the romantic drama Love Is Strange. I was also disappointed by the tiresome Frank Miller’s Sin City: A Dame to Kill For.
My DVD/Stream of the Week is an underrated 2014 romance that most of us didn’t get to see in theaters, The Face of Love with Annette Bening and Ed Harris. The Face of Love is available on DVD from Netflix and streaming from Amazon, iTunes, YouTube, Google Play and Xbox Video.
Here’s an underrated 2014 romance that most of us didn’t get to see in theaters: The Face of Love.
Annette Bening plays a woman whose husband suddenly dies, and she is plunged into an immediate and harsh sense of loss. She goes on with her life and then is surprised to meet a man who is attracted to her. They begin to date and fast develop a serious bond. Here’s the kicker – the new boyfriend looks EXACTLY like her late husband (both are played by Ed Harris). You know that eventually he is going to find out, and that eventually her kids and friends are going to find out, and that people are going to think this is very weird. Those characters – and the audience – will wonder whether she is in love with this new man – in love with the image of her husband.
As one would expect, Bening and Harris both give compelling performances. The scene where the new guy asks her out on a date is especially fun. The Face of Love is a worthwhile watch.
The Face of Love is available on DVD from Netflix and streaming from Amazon, iTunes, YouTube, Google Play and Xbox Video.
