Lovely, Still

Quite the dark horse of Christmas movies. I think it would have been enough to have an intimate film about an older couple meeting for the first time. This goes well beyond that, but talking about it would be a significant spoiler. It is endearing, funny, and quite quirky at times. Puzzling at first, before settling in. All of it comes into focus near the end, when the strangeness makes much more sense, and the message goes far beyond the typical holiday cheer and that love is everyone.

It's not perfect though. There are one or two things that actually never become situated and so there is no closure. This kind of hand waving is a pet peeve of mine. Especially when so much of it could be explained easily and in a short amount of time.

Ellen Burstyn and Martin Landau are so natural and graceful, they make even the corniest and most telegraphed moments almost work…almost. A movie that hinges on its charm (which works) and its twist (which does NOT work), the melodramatic and maudlin soap opera story overbears the fantastic performances.

Nick Fackler knocked "Lovely, Still" out of the ballpark. This is a love story at heart that engages you with humor, drama and honesty. Why this movie was overlooked by the Golden Globes, Oscars and SAG awards will be a mystery to me. I would vote it best Indie out there. Martin Landau and Ellen Burstyn gave exceptional performances along with Adam Scott and Elizabeth banks. What we think at the beginning is a love late in life romantic comedy between a curmudgeonly elder and a lonely widow turns into a beautifully crafted compelling drama. We all had a father or dear uncle like Martin landau's character Robert Malone who late in life doesn't always seem to be all there. I highly recommended.

Fortunately, I saw the preview recently in Tokyo. That was great. You should see this. When you see the press conference (Q & A) after the Toronto Film Festival, you can understand that the actors (Martin Landau, Ellen Burstyn and etc) and the young director Nicholas Fackler trusted entirely each other. The actors were fascinated by Nik's talent. They realized his genius potentials into the marvelous work. I was amazed at how such a young (at age of of 23) "student" could have directed this excellent movie. Therefore, it is too bad that this movie is, so far, ignored by major studios and distributors in the US.

This was quite an unexpected movie. This movie came up on Netflix as a suggested movie and I passed it over a couple of times. I am not a big romantic movie fan but tonight, Valentine's weekend, I was feeling nostalgic for a nice love story so I watched it. It is most certainly a love story and without a doubt a very emotional one. This movie made me smile, laugh, and cry all within an hour and a half. Robert is such a lovable character and his blossoming love for Mary was so sweet and sincere. I will not say what this movie is about to avoid spoiling it but I will suggest if you are one to tear up at movies, then have a box of tissue handy.