Lovesong

This movie was just kinda under everything--underwhelming, under developed, under communicated, etc. If you're going for slow naturalism you still need a heartbeat, but this script is too lethargic to hold attention. At the end of the day it felt padded when it could have made a really poignant half hour short film...

...or rather it would if the plot and characters were laid out better. The main character is as passive as other reviews say. I can sympathize with a woman winding up in a mundane, boring life where motherhood doesn't feel like her end-all-be-all and her husband has essentially abandoned her. It's a very real-world situation. But she does nothing to improve it. Maybe, MAYBE, her attempt to improve it is by going to her love interest's wedding in hopes of running away with the bride...but I have no idea as very little character motivation is ever established. We don't even know why it ends the way it ends, and instead of feeling indie and human and ambiguous it feels like we just wasted a bloated ninety minutes to watch yet another disappointing end to a LGBT story.

In that way it felt extremely dated. Essentially the same story can be found in numerous LGBT books and films that were made in the 80s, 90s, and even 00s. It's 2020, dude. Do something different.

Lovesong is an intimate relationship drama, lovingly told, the kind of indie that hangs not on the script or dialogue, but on the beauty of the images and the mostly silent performances of its leads. And while the story is intriguing and the actors good, it never really rises up to become something memorable.

Lovesong is, true to its title, a bittersweet love story about two best friends, Sarah and Mindy. Sarah married young and now finds herself isolated as a single mother who only has a toddler to talk to, her husband travelling around the world. She calls her friend Mindy who immediately, like a breath of fresh air, arrives to reassure her, tell her that she's a good mom and to urge her to have fun. The two friends along with Sarah's daughter go an impromptu road trip. But while discussing their past some tension comes up and the two end up pushing their relationship into a more romantic capacity. Things go a bit awry and the movie picks up three years later just as Sarah's relationship is dissolving and Mindy is about to get married.

Writer/director So Yong Kim keeps things simple and naturalistic for her leading ladies (no makeup and a distinct lack of over the top reactions). The two main actresses Jena Malone and Riley Keough both work with her very well. But while the two have a soft chemistry that suits the style of the movie it isn't the kind of burning passion that would have made this film really stand out. And everything feels too subtle, too subdued. I liked this movie well enough while I was watching, but I also have the distinct feeling that it won't exactly stick in my mind.

Still worth watching.

I knew nothing about Lovesong going into it and was initially pleasantly surprised by what was going on. The direction and somewhat minimal dialogue was creating a real vibe that drew me in. The main character Sarah has some things going on inside her but as the film progressed I felt like she was drifting away and I knew her less, not more as things progressed. Then her friend Mindy comes for a visit and things come into focus again. You can tell these two are close but Sarah is the type of person in my mind is kind of hard to be friends with as she seems to always be holding back. Some people are just that way but it was a bit frustrating at times. The ending felt a bit abrupt but overall Lovesong is worth checking out if you're genuinely interested but not essential viewing.

Right from the beginning of the movie I sat with a weird feeling of wanting to participate in the illusion of the film but to never be able to submerge in it. The actors all seemed strangely aware of the cameras - like they throughout the film were trying to conceil an awkward smile - even though we are talking about highly experienced actors (this fact rises a lot of questions: Was there a lot of improvising? Did the actors feel unsafe? Did the director fail? Was the cinematographer of an odd character? All of this popped into my head while watching the film which was quite distracting). The choice of telling the story through mainly closeups feels somewhat misguided since the actors didn't have very much to work with - the storytelling didn't provide them with proper background for their characters and didn't build up the proper emotions within the viewers to justify the astetic choices that have been made. The cinematography promise much more emotional rawness and intensity than the director/script/actors could provide and the movie feels like it's missing some pieces in order to make the audience feel what it so eagerly is trying to make them feel.

Definitely didn't know to expect for this film, but what it eventually ended up being is a solidly written and very well acted tale of two friends. It's not a film driven by plot at all, and for that reason it may not engage all types of viewers, but it does tell a nice human story. More than anything, the two leads are really quite good in this. It's nice to see Riley Keough leading a film like this and I hope she continues to get offered roles, and Jena Malone can always be relied on something extra in her roles. This was no exception.