Death in Love
1/4
Starring: Josh Lucas, Jacqueline Bisset, Lukas Haas, Adam Brody
Rated R for Disturbing Violent and Graphic Sexual Content, Nudity and Language
"Death in Love" is twisted. That is not a compliment. It's a creepy, pretentious and disgusting little film. It's also entirely pointless; all of this depravity is, for a lack of a better term, "all fury and signifying nothing."
The film details the exploits of a family who takes the term "dysfunctional" to a new level. The mother (Bisset) is a Holocaust survivor who fell in love with a vicious Nazi doctor. Her youngest son (Haas) is in his late thirties and is co-dependent on his parents and may have autistic tendencies. The older son (Lucas) is a lothario working at a shady modeling agency who hates himself to no end.
The best thing, in fact the only good thing, that I can say about this movie is that the acting is strong. Josh Lucas, an underrated character actor, is very good as a self-loathing 40 year old. This is an intelligent guy who has lived his whole life in decay and has not come out of it well. He struggles with human connections and with his sexual compulsions (on that note, credit must be given to Lucas for his willingness to perform graphic sexual acts for the camera). Jacqueline Bisset, no stranger to playing creepy characters (she was terrifying in her stint on the show "Nip/Tuck") is quite good as the unstable mother. Lukas Haas is rather flat as the younger son, although that may be because of how he was directed.
The saving grace of the film, believe it or not, is Adam Brody. Brody, who was on the hit TV show "The O.C.," is in fine form as the charismatic talent agent that Lucas' character takes a liking to. He's handsome, charming and genuine (or at least he seems to be). The film rises from the muck whenever Brody is on screen. Then it goes back into the artsy hell that it came from.
Because he wrote, directed and produced this monstrosity, Boaz Yakin is the sole bearer of the blame (well, mostly...the cinematography by Frederik Jacobi is drearily stale, reminding us of those awful artsy movies that only cinephiles love). Disturbing movies can be fine, even ones about dysfunctional families ("The War Zone," anyone?). The problem here is that the characters are sketchily developed, the flashbacks to the mother's past are oddly placed and intrusive, and Yakin doesn't seem to be saying anything with this movie (he may very well be saying something, but it never comes across). The only purpose I can think of to watch this movie is to use it as porn, but it's not even good porn; the bleak cinematography prevents any titillation from occurring. So what are we left with? An utterly worthless 90 minutes.
Starring: Josh Lucas, Jacqueline Bisset, Lukas Haas, Adam Brody
Rated R for Disturbing Violent and Graphic Sexual Content, Nudity and Language
"Death in Love" is twisted. That is not a compliment. It's a creepy, pretentious and disgusting little film. It's also entirely pointless; all of this depravity is, for a lack of a better term, "all fury and signifying nothing."
The film details the exploits of a family who takes the term "dysfunctional" to a new level. The mother (Bisset) is a Holocaust survivor who fell in love with a vicious Nazi doctor. Her youngest son (Haas) is in his late thirties and is co-dependent on his parents and may have autistic tendencies. The older son (Lucas) is a lothario working at a shady modeling agency who hates himself to no end.
The best thing, in fact the only good thing, that I can say about this movie is that the acting is strong. Josh Lucas, an underrated character actor, is very good as a self-loathing 40 year old. This is an intelligent guy who has lived his whole life in decay and has not come out of it well. He struggles with human connections and with his sexual compulsions (on that note, credit must be given to Lucas for his willingness to perform graphic sexual acts for the camera). Jacqueline Bisset, no stranger to playing creepy characters (she was terrifying in her stint on the show "Nip/Tuck") is quite good as the unstable mother. Lukas Haas is rather flat as the younger son, although that may be because of how he was directed.
The saving grace of the film, believe it or not, is Adam Brody. Brody, who was on the hit TV show "The O.C.," is in fine form as the charismatic talent agent that Lucas' character takes a liking to. He's handsome, charming and genuine (or at least he seems to be). The film rises from the muck whenever Brody is on screen. Then it goes back into the artsy hell that it came from.
Because he wrote, directed and produced this monstrosity, Boaz Yakin is the sole bearer of the blame (well, mostly...the cinematography by Frederik Jacobi is drearily stale, reminding us of those awful artsy movies that only cinephiles love). Disturbing movies can be fine, even ones about dysfunctional families ("The War Zone," anyone?). The problem here is that the characters are sketchily developed, the flashbacks to the mother's past are oddly placed and intrusive, and Yakin doesn't seem to be saying anything with this movie (he may very well be saying something, but it never comes across). The only purpose I can think of to watch this movie is to use it as porn, but it's not even good porn; the bleak cinematography prevents any titillation from occurring. So what are we left with? An utterly worthless 90 minutes.
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