The Face of Love

I found the premise interesting but was quite surprised at just how engaging the film was. Without giving anything away, be prepared to be drawn into the anticipation in this film. Great cast, excellent acting and kudos to the director as he kept Bening right on point with how she looked at Ed Harris...you could really feel the depth of her gaze. Don't be put off by the film warnings as they were so minimal compared with most films online today and that made this film so refreshing to watch.

Along with 'The Angriest Man In Brooklin' this is an example of a film that Robin Williams made late in his life that was released straight to DVD (in the UK at least).

I think it is one that is well worth seeking out though because although Robin only plays a supporting role, he says so much through his lovely characterisation and facial expressions that you really believe in his character of Roger.

Annette Benning and Ed Harris are the ones that really carry the film though and although the ending is perhaps a little rushed, the rest of the film is an engaging and interesting love story.

So overall although the cover of the DVD (I can only vouch for the UK edition) will lead you to believe that Robin Williams is in it a lot more than he is, the film itself is well worth watching.

"Am I a bad person?" Nikki (Benning) is madly in love with her husband. While they are on vacation he unexpectedly and suddenly passes away. A year later she is still trying to get over him. When she goes to a museum she spots Tom (Harris), a man who looks exactly like her dead husband. This begins a complicated romantic relationship. First thing I have to say about this is that the acting is great and the movie is very emotional. The emotion that is invokes though is a mix between sadness and anger. Nikki makes you feel sorry for her and makes you despise her at the same time. You know why she is doing what she is doing but you can't help but see and feel how selfish she is being. The movie is a little slow moving but the anticipation of her coming clean is what keeps you watching. She is a woman who is hard to root for but at the same time you can't really root against her. That is the sign a a beautifully written movie. Overall, a slow moving movie that keeps the anticipation high which keeps you watching. I give this a B-.

Saw the US premiere of this movie at the Mill Valley Film Festival. The director, Arie Posen, described the inspiration for this film. His mother thought that she saw her late husband walking across the street one day. Of course, it could not have been him, but it was a powerful experience for her. I think many of us have this fantasy of being with a loved one again. It explored the fine line between extreme grief and mental illness. The movie is very well cast, with Annette Bening and Ed Harris delivering strong and believable performances - and chemistry! There were many suspenseful moments where the audience gasped - because we knew what was going on, but the other characters in the movie did not. Throughout the entire movie I was wondering how this could possibly end, but the film does manage to find a conclusion - it does not leave the viewer to write the ending, like so many movies these days.

Stars Annette Bening as a widow who grieves for her dead husband (Ed Harris). We briefly see them as a happy couple vacationing in Mexico and then he dies. Flash forward 5 years and she's settled into her dull life until one day she visits a museum. And there she spies a dead ringer for her dead husband (Harris again). She's jarred from her fugue state and before she knows it she's back at the museum on a daily basis, hoping to catch a glimpse of the look-alike.

The story then takes on a journey not unlike that in VERTIGO, whereby Bening stalks and befriends Harris and tries to re-create him in the manner of her dead husband. As she descends more and more into this fantasy, she gets derailed by her grown daughter and a nosy neighbor. How can she explain this? How can they accept this? She flees to Mexico with Harris but is undone by an old photograph.

The VERTIGO connection is deliberate and even the music echoes Bernard Herrmann's. Had never heard of this film, but it was a good find.