Love Liza (DVD)

Introduction
It is rare that I choose a film based on one of its actors, but I was so impressed by Philip Seymour Hoffman in Capote earlier this year, that I picked up this film purely because of him. I had never heard of the film, but I thought that it sounded interesting and with the addition of Kathy Bates, I figured I couldn't go far wrong. It is not difficult to work out why this film isn't better-known (and for once it's not because ...
...I pretty much sobbed my way through the whole thing. It is wrongly described as a comic tragedy. There are some oddball moments, but nothing that could remotely be called comic.

The story
Wilson Joel's wife committed suicide seemingly for no reason. Ever since, Wilson has been struggling to keep himself together at work and in his private life. He cannot bear to sleep in the bed that he shared with his wife and so spends sleepless ... more

Introduction
It is rare that I choose a film based on one of its actors, but I was so impressed by Philip Seymour Hoffman in Capote earlier this year, that I picked up this film purely because of him. I had never heard of the film, but I thought that it sounded interesting and with the addition of Kathy Bates, I figured I couldn't go far wrong. It is not difficult to work out why this film isn't better-known (and for once it's not because it's a bad film); it is so deeply sad that I pretty much sobbed my way through the whole thing. It is wrongly described as a comic tragedy. There are some oddball moments, but nothing that could remotely be called comic.

The story
Wilson Joel's wife committed suicide seemingly for no reason. Ever since, Wilson has been struggling to keep himself together at work and in his private life. He cannot bear to sleep in the bed that he shared with his wife and so spends sleepless nights on the floor. He cannot concentrate at work. His mother-in-law is supportive, but he finds it difficult to spend time with her. Then one night, in a quest for sleep, he takes a pillow off his bed and underneath it finds a suicide note from his wife.

Wilson is unable to open the note, afraid of what his wife's dying words will tell him. He begins to retreat into a world of his own by petrol (gasoline)-sniffing (although we are never told how his wife died, the impression given is that she died from petrol fumes). Despite support from work, he sinks deeper and deeper into his addiction, waking up in strange places and taking up hobbies such as model airplane flying. Will he one day be able to open his wife's letter and begin the long process of recovery?

The actors/characters
I suspect that Philip Seymour Hoffman may have been chosen for the role of Wilson Joel because of his eccentric looks. He certainly wasn't chosen because he is good looking and this for me is refreshing, because I was more able to take his acting skills into consideration rather than the way he looked. This film certainly showed off his talent as an actor. His ability to realistically portray a broken man falling into addiction was impeccable and despite the subject matter of the film being unlikely to make it a popular choice, I would still recommend it for this man alone.

Kathy Bates' role as Wilson's mother-in-law, although not a large role, complements Hoffman's beautifully. Her skill as an actress adds to the sense of class about this film and I could feel her frustration as she sees Wilson deteriorate.

Jack Kehler as Wilson's plane and boat flying friend, Denny, is also well worth a mention. Again, I think he is supposed to bring an element of goofiness and humour to the film and I think he would have succeeded if the story wasn't so spine-tinglingly sad. This didn't detract from his acting though; he still gave an excellent performance as a friend unable to deal with his friend's addiction. I recognise Kehler as an actor, but am not sure where I have seen him before. His roles listed on imdb.com don't seem familiar to me.

Technical bits

Classification: 15

Running time: 90 minutes

Screenwriter/director
The screenplay was written by Hoffman's brother, Gordy, which perhaps accounts for Philip's brilliant interpretation of the role. The director, Todd Louiso, is better known as an actor, for example, as Dick in High Fidelity.

Conclusion
This is not a film that is going to be to everybody's taste. There are some quirky moments; for example when Wilson jumps naked into a lake during a model speedboat competition; but on the whole, it is so much more of a tragedy than anything else. I cannot see anyone appreciating this film unless they have been through some kind of personal tragedy or have watched someone go through addiction or depression - it is certainly not a light-hearted film for a fun night in. Then again, it is not a film to watch if you are too close to the pain that Wilson goes through.

What it does do well is to portray the private pain of a man who is suffering and needs help, but cannot accept it from those that want to help him. I rarely cry during films and when I do, it is usually at the end, but with this film, I pretty much sobbed my way through it. Hoffman's performance was so realistic that I found it really hard to switch off from the film afterwards.

To some extent, the ending wasn't quite as satisfactory as it could have been. At the same time, I think it was an excellent portrayal of real life, warts and all, and I can only applaud Gordy Hoffman and Todd Louiso for having the guts to tackle a subject as raw as this that was never going to be a success commercially.

I'm going to knock a star off for the fact that this film is so damn depressing, but I do still recommend this film to anyone that can cope with watching a film as bluntly realistic as this. If you've recently been depressed, have lost someone close to you or have a loved one struggling with an addiction, this film is probably not for you.

I watched the film only, but the DVD is available from play.com for £5.59.
 

...less