A Love Song

Saw this back at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival.

The story is about two childhood sweethearts, both now widowed, share a night by a lake in the mountains. The narrative isn't anything special as we have seen similar stories like this presented in the past years of cinema. But due to Max Walker-Silverman's direction, the movie was still able to feel natural and touching at the same time. Silverman was able to keep the movie afloat with beautiful camerawork and some really good sound design. It makes the audience really feel like they are outside of the hills.

Actors Dale Dicky and Wes Studi in my opinion are some of the most underrated actors. Dicky and Studi's chemistry both help to keep the characters engaging with their performances helping to build their purpose. The nice atmosphere and soundtrack provided help to keep the movie like a melody. Storywise, it isn't anything special but I was still able to connect with this movie.

Rating: B.

A woman has parked her travel trailer in a Colorado park, waiting for a childhood friend to meet her there. The woman proceeds to meet a collection of odd residents/workders but no childhood friend for quiet a while. The film started out as a kind of Waiting for Godot setup, but it became a study in loneliness of people whose past lives seem to be disappearing. The film reminded me of Nomadland with its haunting loneliness and hopelessness of its characters, but A Love Song took a different turn and avoided the hopelessness. Still, the two main actors (Dale Dickey and Wes Studi) are recognizable from their innumerable background acting roles in past features and come across and relatable and true characters--i.e. Real human beings. This quiet indie film offered a lot of subtle thought-provoking ideas, particularly to people like me who are entering our 60's and 70's. It was a sweet film.

As the clock of life ticks by, many of us begin to look back on our lives in terms of the opportunities we pursued and the regrets we hold over those we didn't. Those are the primary themes explored in writer-director Max Walker-Silverman's debut feature about a pair of childhood friends (Dale Dickey, Wes Studi) who reunite after many years apart at a remote Colorado campground. Their time together gives them a chance to reflect upon their lives, their memories and the loves they both lost. But where do they go from here now that they've reconnected? This tender, bittersweet arm's-length romance has its moments of humor, compassion and joyful reunion, as well as its elements of stilted awkwardness and protracted hesitation, reflecting the ambiguity the two principals are feeling after their long separation. It makes for some interesting dynamics set against the beautifully photographed backdrop of the Western wilderness. However, despite these strengths, the script feels a little thin with an underdeveloped narrative and back story, issues that are slightly exacerbated by the picture's slow but tolerable pacing. While it's true this offering proves that a film doesn't always need a complex, densely packed screenplay chock full of dramatic heft to be effective, it nevertheless seems that "A Love Song" could have benefitted from a little more substance. Still, this one has its merits, having deservedly earned Independent Spirit Award nominations for Dickey's lead performance and as a candidate for the competition's John Cassavettes Award. This is the kind of film that makes a good choice for a cozy weekend afternoon while curled up on the couch, and, thankfully, its economical 1:21:00 runtime is just long enough to make it enjoyable without becoming tedious - a nice little diversion without becoming tiresome.

While the cinematography showed nice views the picture was not that great. However, this film absolute blew me away; each scene was special! If you are not looking for action then please check out this film (if you are expecting action then this is not the film for you). It moves at a snails pace throughout while the set never much really changes. If you don't like camping then go watch this movie instead;)

This movie was utterly beautiful in every way. I did not know that I needed to witness strength and vulnerability in silence and was tremendously moved by Dale Dickey's honest and transparent performance. I can now count two times that I have been in awe inspired by an actor's performance when motionless and silent: (1) was watching Anthony Hopkins's heart break in Remains of the Day, and now (2) Dale Dickey letting go of a romantic fantasy and confront a deeper level of grief in A Love Song. My sincerely thanks to everyone on this production. It's been three days since I've seen it, and the impact of the movie is still felt acutely. Bless you and your humanity.