I Love You, I Love You Not

I had to watch this movies twice. The first viewing left me a bit off kilter, a bit confused - as to how I felt about the film (the performances etc..) and the story. What I have decided after watching it over: This story is unique, nice. I felt the 3 main roles where well given. Claire Danes is the classic thoughtful and misunderstood child [My so called Life leading the way for teenage 'angst' series; Juliet - in Romeo and Juliet]. She pulls off the dreamy look. Jude Law, a fitting choice for Daisy's shy affections as her 'perfect' guy. The rest of the cast? Gone. Scratch all of them. I felt James Van Der Beek was totally unconvincing as a taunter/verbal bully (?). There were definitely angles in the film that needed work - particularly Ethan's character, and his interaction with his friends. If you try and come to some conclusion about them - you draw a blank. An intended one? I don't know. As well as Daisy's home life needed work. I can't decide whether it is left out on purpose or not.

The directing, for me, was what ultimately let the story down rather than enhancing it. No lingering shots, no closeups where there should have been, particularly during Ethan and Daisy's interaction. It's hard to explain, but the shot's didn't work. Didn't create the feeling the movie needed to work.

And this is a story that deserves to work.

For me this film is unsuccessful in intermingling the issue of antisemitism with the coming of age of a relatively studious young woman. On one level the Jude Law character might be only marginally deeper than his disgustingly callow friends. He is attracted by the young woman's seriousness and relatively shy affection for him but this attraction is offset by her social conservatism. The depth of any antisemitism in him or amongst his silly friends is never explored. In the end the motivation of his character, and the point of the film, elude me. An interpretation that springs to mind is that gentiles do not feel the significance of the holocaust, that they trivialise it. Part of coming of age for jewish girls is therefore that they should (or simply do) experience failed love affairs with gentiles. The fact that these affairs fail for these reasons is somehow constructively educational for the girls. I truly hope this is not intended to be the message.

A girl who loves to stay with her grandmother who was a jew survivor from the "camps" of Hitler, but hides her story, falls in love with an athlete guy in a high-school where the teens have prejudice against her and her way of life. Sweet, but slow movie, although Danes and Moreau are superb.

Essentially, this movie has all the makings for..well, a better one. Claire Danes plays a quiet girl with sad eyes, and unloving parents who spends most of her time with her Grandmother. One day in english class, she reads aloud a poem written about Jude Law's character, "Ethan", who is the stereotypical jock/playboy on campus. The two get together...blah blah blah..

I won't tell you anymore except the the ending is VERY dissapointing. It's as though the movie just, ends. You don't see it coming, you feel like it should be starting to get good, and the plot holes filled up..well, they aren't, and it does. It's really quite aggrivating. Jude Law and Claire Danes performances are great, but not quite enough to push this movie onto my favourite list. But, don't let me discourage you, it's worth the rent.

Sad, strange little movie stars Claire Danes as Daisy; a shy, bookish girl attending an elite private school in New York. When she's not gushing over the delectable Ethan (Jude Law), she's spending time with her Nana in the countryside reading books and listening to Nana's tales of her survival of the holocaust.

The movie tries to intertwine the themes of post and modern day anti-semitism via Nana's stories and flashback sequences with Daisy's trials and tribulations at school when knowledge of her Jewish heritage is made public.

Unfortunately, as hard as this movie tries, it never quite hits the mark. The performances from Danes and Moreau though are heartfelt, and the message is there for those who want to see it. This movie means well and attempts to educate us on one of the all time greatest blights on mankind - prejudice.

Worth a look for early performances from Jude Law, James Van Der Beek and Julia Stiles before they hit the big time.