Love Is Strange

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John Lithgow and Alfred Molina might end being one of the first couple of actors to be nominated for the same movie in quite a while. Both give heartfelt performances in a movie that dares to confront the issues of love, loneliness, and family relationships in a very direct and honest manner. A couple of longtime partners decide to tie the knot, and you'd think in this modern and liberated times, they would only look forward to a happy ending. Well, it's not quite that way, and that's just the beginning of a few months of stress, sadness, loneliness, and quite an emotional ordeal for all involved. As they are separated because they can't afford a place to live anymore. Ben must go and live with his nephew, and though this family to do pretty well, we have problems with personal space, privacy, and just in the simple matter that it does take a while to get used to new people. Relationships are strained, and it doesn't take long before people might say things they will regret. This is the part of the film where Lithgow does great work while interacting with the underrated Marisa Tomei, who must keep her frustrations in check because she's afraid to add more unhappiness to an already messy situation. She has a teenager who barely speaks to her, and a husband who lives more for his business than his family. Theirs is probably typical of what modern couples go through because we don't get the sense he's cheating, just overwhelmed by his job obligations. He's totally unaware of the strain their guest brings to the family, and in addition to that he begins to suspect something might be going on with his son's relationship with his "only friend". On the other side of town is Ben's spouse, and Molina shines in a more restrained performance. He plays after all, a man who has learned to live with himself and has probably never really said much, regardless of the situation. After all, Ben seems to be the more dynamic partner, and he's gone away, and Molina is perfect at showing how devastating this separation is for both. Molina must deal with being the invisible guest syndrome. His friends go on with their lives, but they are young, kind, and happy, not minding him, and this is not quite what Molina needs because he feels abandoned and a burden. We see the couple try to overcome their financial problems, but it appears that New York is after all a tough place for even young ones, and we have a couple of old men in their 60's and 70's, with decaying health, barely any positive prospects, and who have been dealt a really bad deal in the sale of their property. The film depicts the various stages of the way things go from bliss to utter sadness. In the end, life has to go on, and the ending is bittersweet, giving you hope that nothing can stay at its lowest point forever, and it works because we have actors like Molina and Lithgow who can say so much with their eyes. We learn from happiness, to anger, to frustration, to despair, to hope, to the fact that life is way more than we expect, and that love is indeed a strange and wonderful emotion.

Love Is Strange is a good quiet film that's elevated by strong performances from its leads (John Lithgow and Alfred Molina) and supporting cast. The film is also a well-made "gay" film, dealing with the subject of same-sex relationship without making the characters straight-up stereotypes. Love Is Strange is a good movie overall, even if the film is real nothing special. Love Is Strange tells the story of gay lovers, Ben played by John Lithgow a painter and George played by Alfred Molina a music teacher, who finally tie the knot after living together for some time. Only things get complicated when George is fired from his position as a music teacher. This forces the two to live separately from each other, with George living with two cops played by Cheyenne Jackson and Manny Perez), and Ben living with his nephew played by Darren Burrows, wife played by Marisa Tomei, and their son played by Charlie Tahan, as the two try to look for cheaper housing. The two lead performances by Lithgow and Molina feel very natural and real as does their chemistry as lovers. Even though the two share little scenes together (being separated throughout most of the film), you can tell that Ben and George are genuinely in love with each other. The scene where the two hug is quite touching. While Marisa Tomei gives a natural well layered, good performance as a mother who feels a little bit disconnected from her family. Her best scene is when she complains to her husband about how he's too soft on his uncle Ben. Darren Burrows is also another good standout as Joey, Tomei's son in the film who has a bit too many problems that he's hiding from his family. Some of the shots in Love Is Strange are nice. The opening sequence with a shot of the legs of the two main characters (Ben and George) sleeping together in their bed was well done. While there's another nice quiet scene where Ben is shown painting. The short scene consists of little dialogue and just music played in the background. Love Is Strange doesn't really tackle the gay subject matter all that much, but it doesn't play it up either. Very few times throughout the film is the word gay actually said, and because of this, I appreciate Love Is Strange. One of the best things about the film it's score. Although the score is very limited and small, it consists of classical music, primarily that of a piano. This helps to give certain scenes a nice feeling. Additionally, the use of classical music in the film makes sense considering that George is a music teacher himself. Love Is Strange is a very quiet and understated film. While not perfect, the film is helped by its lead performances and is overall enjoyable to watch.