Love Liza

Philip Seymour Hoffman has made a career out of playing deeply depressed characters. In `Love Liza,' he has found what might well be his most perfectly suited role to date, that of a young man trying to come to terms with the suicide of his wife.

Written by Gordy Hoffman and directed by Todd Louiso, `Love Liza' is a searing study of grief, one that chronicles the many stages a man goes through in coping with this type of tragedy. Wilson first finds himself unable to sleep in the same bed he used to share with his wife. Then he returns to the place where they spent their honeymoon in a vain attempt to find some solace or answers there. Then there's the turn towards self-destruction as he seeks escape from his pain by inhaling mass quantities of gasoline. All along the way, well-meaning friends, colleagues and family members proffer what they can in the way of support and sympathy but, invariably, they find themselves ill-equipped to deal with grief at this level of intensity. This is even the case with Mary Ann, Wilson's understanding mother-in-law, who is having to cope with her son-in-law's dysfunction while also dealing with her own grief at the loss of her daughter.

The title of the film comes from a signed suicide note Liza left to Wilson under his pillow. That letter, which Wilson cannot bring himself to open, only adds to the man's despair, for he fears it may reveal that he was somehow responsible for his wife's actions. Thus, wracked with guilt as well as grief, Wilson slides ever further into that deep dark hole of despair. The filmmakers, in an effort to mitigate some of the misery inherent in the subject matter, invest the story with a number of sly, quirky touches, such as Wilson's sudden obsession with mechanized toy airplanes. But the overwhelming sadness is never far from the film's surface.

`Love Liza' is, at its core, an actor's film – and the cast proves itself worthy of the challenge. Hoffman's portrait of a man whose entire meaning for existence has been knocked out from under him is devastating in its understatement and power. Kathy Bates turns in an equally fine and subdued performance as his grieving mother-in-law, and Sarah Koskoff and Jack Kehler offer fine support.

Is `Love Liza' a `dark' film? Absolutely. But it is also a brave, insightful and compelling one for those willing to enter its world. It may not be easy to watch, but it is probably harder not to.

Greetings again from the darkness. It has been a week since I saw this and I am still not sure what to make of it. Philip Seymour Hoffman comes through beautifully in his first true lead role. He magically captures the private pain and freedom associated with losing a loved one. Hoffman's brother, Gordy, wrote the screenplay and it is brilliant in its ability to make the audience (and sometimes its lead character) smile, even laugh during a most sorrowful time. Kathy Bates delivers a strange, but effective performance as the grieving-wanna be- helpful mother-in-law. Two terrific supporting roles from the great Stephen Tobolowsky and Jack Kehler. Director Todd Louiso (Dick from "High Fidelity") lets us examine our feelings on mourning and how individualistic the process can be. Who knows what is the right way to grieve, or when enough is enough? Trying to find yourself after losing a part of your life is not necessarily a 12 step program, nor should it be. Re-discovering life can be painful and exhilarating and this movie shows both sides pretty well.

This movie had decent directing, decent story, well done cinematography. The only thing that really made it worth watching was Seymour Hoffman's awesome performance. The movie was a bit quiet at times, I think there was a point in the movie when not a word was said for at least ten minutes. But if your someone who'll see a movie just for the acting, than this one is worth renting, probably not buying though, it's far too depressing.

I call Philip Seymour Hoffman my favorite actor, so of course when I found a movie where he is the center of attention (not usually the case) I felt obligated to see it. His older brother wrote the screenplay, no doubt with Philip in mind for the part.

To tell you the truth, the overall feel of the movie wasn't so great. I'm sure that Hoffman played the character well, but we only get to see this character in this very strange part of his life. There's no context to judge how much of his behavior is situational. He seems to be cracking up, laughing at the office in a way that makes the others leave the area, and generally behaving in a way that shows lack of judgment. We understand that his wife just took her own life, it's revealed early on in the film, so we understand why he is behaving the way he is, we just don't know what he's normally like. I enjoyed Jack Kehler's character. He seems to be the kind of person you'd like to avoid talking to more than just briefly, but it makes sense that he gets on well with Hoffman's character during his time of turmoil. There were some things they chose to put in the movie (like his glass falling over at the beach, the flowers falling over at the cemetery, and the glove compartment not shutting) that felt like they would happen in real life - like real life metaphors, and I appreciated that element. I thought the gas huffing was a little strange until I read that there was a definite connection to the way his wife died. It's a tricky film to judge. It's hard to empathize with character because he's just so outside the norm, but it's easy not to judge him because it's hard to imagine anything much worse happening to a person.

If you really like Philip Seymour Hoffman I would tell you to go ahead and rent the film, I would at the same time tell you to keep your expectations lowered.

One never knows how grief will affect anyone. The loss of a loved one is something no one is prepared for. When tragedy strikes, as it's the point of this film, the surviving spouse is so desolate that he cannot deal with his loss. That is why Wilson, the grieving husband of Liza goes to the deep end trying to cope with her untimely death.

Liza's death is not spoken of until Wilson receives a telephone call from the local newspaper editor that is trying to write an obituary about her death and asks whether he wants to mention the suicide, or not. We get a clue about what happened to Liza when Wilson goes to the garage and sees her car. This is a link, perhaps, as to why he resorts to sniffing gasoline, as a way to obliterate the tragedy from his mind, as Wilson tries to comprehend what could have motivated her suicide.

"Love Liza" is a different kind of film. It will irritate some viewers, but ultimately, it will reward those that stay with the story. The screen play written by Gordy Hoffman could have used some editing, but his story feels real. Todd Luiso directed with conviction.

The film's main character, Wilson, is brilliantly played by Phillip Seymour Hoffman, one actor who is always a pleasure to watch for the intensity he brings to his appearances. In fact, his Wilson is one of the best roles he has played. Kathy Bates, on the other hand, as the mother of the dead Liza, is only seen briefly, but her scenes convey the impression how this woman is suffering as she seeks answers about her daughter's untimely departure. Sarah Koskoff, Stephen Tobolowsky and Jack Kehler, especially, make good contributions to the film.

This film is a must for Phillip Seymour Hoffman's fans.