FILM INFO: Ditched by his young girlfriend, a middle-aged man reconnects with his college sweetheart.
WRITTEN BY: Simon Boisvert DIRECTED BY: Christian Belz Parenteau GENRE: Romance TIME: 76 minutes.
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Love Or Lust ( 2017 )
Most of us have been there, and all of us know someone else who has. Some consider it inevitable, mostly the younger crowd, but there are also those who believe in true love, with no need for the accepted conclusion that is unfaithfulness. Enter "Love Or Lust", a romance movie a little unlike most others. While modern romance film is infused with comedy to get the point across, the road taken by writer Simon Boisvert is a much harder one to traverse. Remaining completely serious as you spin the tale. This foray into relationships contains no jokes or silly gags as it attempts to bring it's characters closer, much like real life. When things happen they just happen. Go with it or move on. Where "Love Or Lust" really distances itself from the crowd is it's attempt at a real story. I'm not writing that there's no happy ending here, all I'm saying is that it's not the ending you probably think. No push for the fairy tale, only an attempt at realism. As interesting as it sounds, this approach, in this particular film seems counter intuitive. "Love Or Lust" at times feels more like a video diary of the ordinary than a dedicated romance flick. Although it was refreshing to see a slightly new take on an old story, with a more human set of characters, it also sterilized the production somewhat. Some may find "Love Or Lust" a little slow for their tastes, or a little under dramatic. The visuals presented by "Love Or Lust" are, for the most part, really good. I can't complain about any bad footage featured in the movie. Well lit, nicely executed shots make the bulk of the package. Rounding off the visuals is some excellent audio, and a generally nice "romance" themed color grade. A little more attention could have been given to the edit itself however, which at times feels a little forced. As a viewer, you see patterns when watching a film. The editor is responsible for making sure the visual details keep the pace moving forward with mind pleasing cuts. We, the viewers should not even be aware of them. This is a hard task sometimes, and with "Love Or Lust" I can say that the editing patterns my mind kept expecting, were simply not followed at least a quarter of the film. That's not saying a new visual standpoint isn't a welcomed thing, just that it didn't work here. A lot of the film felt rushed to completion, bringing me out of the world director Christian Belz Parenteau worked so hard to put together. I'm not saying the edit was vulgar in any way, it just felt a little hurried. The leading cast all performed admirably. There was indeed moments of greatness. However, there were also some moments of... well, really odd situational choices. Break up arguments at times felt sleepy and hollow. No passion. At times, scenes were presented as something read off a script and not from the heart. This could have been a dialog issue or simply be me misreading the onscreen action. Either way, a few of these scenes exist that had me remembering this was a film and not real life. Thankfully, these scenes were the exception, not the rule. When it's all said and done "Love Or Lust" did the trick and kept me entertained for a while. It's always great to see onscreen some of what me, or my friends have went through in real life. Whenever you enter a film and leave feeling like you're not alone in the world, or the only one who has ever made mistakes, you begin to think maybe the film held a lot more than you at first perceived. This gives a movie the chance to be talked about a little, or at the very least thought about. It also, in a round about way may make you think twice at certain choice points in your life. With that all in mind, "Love Or Lust" has accomplished it's task and in my humble opinion, is a film worth checking out when you can. -JT