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| John Lithgow and Alfred Molina, giving two terrific performances (Sony Pictures Classics) |
Love
Is Strange throws into its pot people of old age, middle age and adolescence;
people who are gay, straight or figuring it out; self-described intellectuals,
partiers or some combination of the two; and, in a move very rare in modern
American cinema, it just lets life happen. Ira Sachs’ triumphant ode to love
and commitment is as surprisingly poignant as it is low-key. Its message is blurred,
its story both jumbled and undeniably secondary, and its performances
understated. But Sachs takes you in. He inserts you into the bickering of an
old married couple, the struggles that come with married parents living
their own lives, and the excitement and nervousness that is met with a
teen’s first love. By resisting analysis and pointed commentary about love and
marriage and aging, Love Is Strange erupts rich with feeling, ending as an
evocative and genuine slice of life. A