The Super Network

Pure love stories are few and far between, ones that are genuine and feel real, LOVE IS STRANGE is one of those rare genuine ones. This is not a film adapted from a sappy romance novel, it is the creation of co-writers Ira Sachs and Maurico Zacharias, who clearly had passion for this story.

This is about Ben (John Lithgow) and George (Alfred Molina) a couple who have been together 39 years, and decide to marry now that the law allows it. These are two men who have been together most of their lives, and a wrench gets thrown in the works right after their marriage.

You see George is employed by a Catholic school as a music teacher, yet after he is married they deem that inappropriate and he loses his job. The pair can no longer afford their apartment, with George unemployed and hoping to give private lessons to students and Ben living on a pension. The heartbreaking decision sends them apart, with Ben off to live with his nephew and family and George with their downstairs neighbour until they can find another place to live. The separation is difficult on these two, they are not used to being apart and it weighs down on them. For George he is living with a couple couple, who have parties every night, he gets no real peace. For Ben he is a burden on his niece, who is a stay at home writer, his nephew is never home and their son is a young teen who now finds himself sharing his bedroom and gets no privacy.

Ben and George are clearly a loving couple, two souls who are now in their late 60’s/early 70’s, who struggle now with their separation. It is clear the pair aren’t used to being apart, and Ben even states he isn’t used to sleeping without George next to him. After getting a glimpse at these two, it hurts to see them separated, and we the audience know they are going to struggle. Ben perhaps has the more difficult situation, it becomes clear that his family is struggling and he just doesn’t know what to do with himself. In a way, the film reflects different era’s of romance, with young nephew Joey claiming he loves a girl he hasn’t met. The couple George now has to live with are young, and social, always having company over, then we have Elliot and Kate, clearly having issues with each other, dealing with a teenage son. And finally Ben and George, the old couple who now can’t bare to be without each other.

It must be said that this film treats its characters as real people, and the fact that Ben and George are gay isn’t handled as such. They are not a gay couple, they are just a couple, and it is refreshing to see. Yes their sexuality plays a part in George’s job loss, but the film doesn’t dwell on this and George’s letter to the school parents is very heartfelt and not at all preachy. He wants to children to never be afraid of who they are, an important message. Ben and George are the heart of the film, their scenes together are magical because these two share the perfect chemistry and make us believe in this couple. Perhaps the only down side of the film is that these two spend so much time apart, and we want to see them together because of how well it works. Their interactions with the other characters is interesting, because we can see the tensions with Ben’s family and the carefree attitude of George’s friends.

John Lithgow and Alfred Molina give some of their career best performances, they fall into their characters very naturally and they aren’t afraid of each other, they embrace the relationship. The chemistry as stated is there and perfect, the audience can easily believe this is a couple that has had 39 years together. The love is very much there, and it does hit hard when they are separated. Marissa Tomei is very good as Kate, her frustration with her own situation, husband and son are so visible, she doesn’t need to speak about it to get that across. Charlie Tahan as Joey is a mixed up and shy teenager, clinging on to his only friend and lashing out that he has to share his room with his Uncle, an action he later regrets. Darren E. Burrows as Elliot isn’t in the film as much as the other two, he’s absence is what frustrates Kate and has an affect on his son that he is very much blind to.

Ira Sachs has made a fantastic film, his passion for this story is very clear, he knew what he wanted and got it. The film is shot in a very lovely way, with some shots being absolutely beautiful in their own simplicity. The title of the film is interesting LOVE IS STRANGE, well with Ben and George it feels anything but strange. This is a must see film of the Melbourne International Film Festival.

Rating: