Hateship Loveship

Being funny on the screen seems effortless to Kristen Wiig. Her comedic clowning skills are on a par with Lucille Ball and Shelly Long. Sincerity, however, doesn't come as easily — especially when her character is plain and charmless.

HATESHIP LOVESHIP sat on the Thriftway DVD rental shelf for several weeks. I took note of its great cast: Wiig, supported by Guy Pierce, Nick Nolte, Hailee Steinfeld, Christine Lahti, and Jennifer Jason Leigh. What could go wrong there? My memories of GIRL MOST LIKELY (which was supposed to be a comedy, but whiffed miserably) prevented me from taking the chance. Wiig's performance as said GIRL lacked any charm whatsoever; she was drab, homely, and totally unappealing. So, what was she going to do with this, her first dramatic role? It didn't look promising at all.

Finally, I took HATESHIP LOVESHIP home. And, I'm so very glad I did. What a splendid collaboration between star, cast, screenwriter, director and crew in this adaptation of Alice Munro's short story. Ain't no heroes here. These are real, extremely flawed human beings. They might live next door to anyone. They might be anyone.

Wiig's Johanna is a caretaker. That's what makes her life make sense. And, that's her odd beauty. She also finds herself attracted to bad boy Ken (Pierce) a drug-addicted user with delusions of accomplishing something that will finally give him independence.

But no one in this story seems to feel entitled to anything. They've all been wounded. So they protect themselves.

No one is hanging from a cliff. No clock is ticking. No fuse is burning down. Yet, somehow watching Johanna scrub a long-neglected bathtub filled me with worry, hoping she wasn't setting herself up for disaster.

The sex scenes, while not showing any nudity, are luscious and beautiful. I hope to see more of Liza Johnson. She is one gifted and inspired director.

Yeah, maybe Ken will never change. But it won't be for Johanna's lack of patience, and devotion. The story leaves us rootin' for the dude — and loving her. The doormat has won his respect and admiration. And ours. She deserves it.

This film, even though it is a slow burn art-house film, really has a lot going for it. The casting is perfect! I never expected to see Guy Pierce as an Americana low life, but he totally pulls it off. Kristen Wiig was perfectly cast in the completely understated role. Sometimes she is drawn inward so much, that you almost wish she had a moment of warmth that was more than just nuance. I wanted her to have a little outward joy on film to help ease some of the difficulty in watching the character trying to cope with herself in the world.

But I really loved some of the sweet moments of warmth in the film, however, reserved they happened to be. I was touched by several moments, especially the moments between Hailee Steinfeld and Kristen Wiig.

Over all, this movie was my cup of tea, I just wish it had a little more range for Kristen's character to help swing the needle up and down a bit.

I was able to view to this movie via PPV before it hits theaters. I had no prior knowledge of the movie, and honestly pretty low expectations based on the description given, but I thought wth, I'll give it a try. I am SO glad I did. This movie was an unexpected beauty. I loved seeing both Kristen Wiig and Guy Pearce in very different roles than they typically play. This film is understated, it's slow going yet the pace feels perfect. There may not be any HUGE moments, but there are a couple "really good" ones. This film starts out with an almost sad feeling, but totally goes in an unexpected direction, and is so much more than it's description. It offers amazing yet gentle insight into various relationships, real-life scenarios, and excellent acting. I loved Nick Nolte in this. All around, this film left a good feeling inside my heart. It's about embracing imperfection, loving people for who they are, yet showing them how much more than can be if someone believes in them. At least, that's what I took away from it. So much more than I expected, love it! I am quite picky about movies, especially slower-moving independent films..but this- I loved. Well worth the money and time. 9/10

This movie was based on the short story 'Hateship, Friensdhip, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage' which won the Noble prize in literature a decade ago. A pure drama about a middle aged single woman whose life was dedicated to her profession. Just like similar to the 'Finding Vivian Maier', except there was no photographies involved. Frankly, I was not predicted that this film would impress me a lot. Picked it to watch without an interest, but while a watch surprised and glued to my seat to the rest of the film.

Even though there were fine actors in the movie like Guy Pearce and latest sensation Hailee Steinfield, it was a Kristen Wiig show. Apart from voice-over for the animations and other supporting roles, she was not seen in a top form recently. Her commitment to the character she played as Johanna Perry the live-in caretaker in the movie was inevitable to appreciate. Feels very real who fall for a teenagers prank that actually influence her life to turn it around. So how and what are the things to be done against the odds are displayed well.

''The only thing worse than friendship is hateship.''

Kind of 'second chance' theme, if you get one you must seize it. Though, it was not that simple in the movie, but developed at a fair dosage of obstacles between 'the desperate' and 'the hope' to form balanced account. Don't consider it an inspirational, it was just pieces of common event that's happening everywhere, but creatively put into the texts and then cinematic. Commercializable title that did not suit for a realistic narration. Especially not in todays world, might have been a perfect title 20-25 years ago. Once you watch it the perspective will change that still movie like this are made for the silver screen, not direct-to-television, but what? Sadly commercially fails.

If you observe closely the end scene, it was very practical to the real life. Whether we accept our fate as it happened or we created it, the flaws always remain, especially in a relationship. That's what the entire movie unfolds, how people cope with each other despite what they were before. A very well told simple story. Of course it was a slow narration, not because of the stretched from a short story, but to give the depth in the portrayal. This movie is for ardent drama fans like me, for a change others as well should try this little sweet movie.

8/10

It is difficult to believe that a character played by Kristen Wiig actually existed. I suppose it could happen. This makes the story worth watching if for no other reason other than to find out how it turns out. The acting is good