Lovesong

'LOVESONG': Four and a Half Stars (Out of Five)

A drama about two best friends that take an unplanned road trip together, along with one of the woman's toddler daughter. They then become romantically involved together, until one of them suddenly leaves. They then meet again, three years later, at the disappearing woman's wedding. It stars Jena Malone, Riley Keough, Brooklyn Decker, Amy Seimetz, and Jessie OK and Sky OK Gray. It was directed by So- yong Kim, and written by Kim and Bradley Rust Gray. The film had it's world premiere at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival, and it's gotten mostly positive reviews from critics. I found it to be a very beautiful, and exceptionally well made, love story.

Sarah (Keough) is an unhappily married mother of a three-year-old daughter named Jessie (Jessie OK Gray). As she feels like she's starting to have a mental breakdown, Sarah decides to call her best friend Mindy (Malone). Sarah, Mindy and Jessie then go on a road trip together. As Sarah and Mindy talk more and more, they become closer and closer (in a very intimate way). Then Sarah's husband calls. As the reality of the situation starts to set in, Mindy decides to suddenly leave. This leaves Sarah heartbroken. The two best friends meet again though, three years later at Mindy's wedding.

The movie is beautifully shot and acted. The characters definitely seem like real people, and as a viewer you feel like you can really relate to their love and pain. I think the film is an outstanding indie love story. It's pretty subtle and short, and it might leave some viewers wanting more, but I think it's a nearly perfect film. It's a great examination of relationships, and how people react to them. Malone and Keough both give great performances in it, and I think So-yong Kim makes a very good impression as a talented filmmaker to watch out for.

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Lovesong is an intimate relationship drama, lovingly told, the kind of indie that hangs not on the script or dialogue, but on the beauty of the images and the mostly silent performances of its leads. And while the story is intriguing and the actors good, it never really rises up to become something memorable.

Lovesong is, true to its title, a bittersweet love story about two best friends, Sarah and Mindy. Sarah married young and now finds herself isolated as a single mother who only has a toddler to talk to, her husband travelling around the world. She calls her friend Mindy who immediately, like a breath of fresh air, arrives to reassure her, tell her that she's a good mom and to urge her to have fun. The two friends along with Sarah's daughter go an impromptu road trip. But while discussing their past some tension comes up and the two end up pushing their relationship into a more romantic capacity. Things go a bit awry and the movie picks up three years later just as Sarah's relationship is dissolving and Mindy is about to get married.

Writer/director So Yong Kim keeps things simple and naturalistic for her leading ladies (no makeup and a distinct lack of over the top reactions). The two main actresses Jena Malone and Riley Keough both work with her very well. But while the two have a soft chemistry that suits the style of the movie it isn't the kind of burning passion that would have made this film really stand out. And everything feels too subtle, too subdued. I liked this movie well enough while I was watching, but I also have the distinct feeling that it won't exactly stick in my mind.

Still worth watching.

I haven't seen any of So Young Kim's other movies, but I am going to make an effort. I understand the varied responses of others here, and make no excuses; it is different for me, and this love story really is a Lovesong, one played in the background over several years, which rises from piano to sforzando, and back to quietness. Remarkably acted and directed, Riley Keough and Jena Malone are just perfect in the depiction of their barely suppressed love for one another. The film both delighted and depressed me, but it has become one that I will buy to keep. I do agree with a review of Lovesong by Justin Chang in "Variety" on 25 Jan 2016: "There's a remarkable truthfulness to the film's acknowledgment that people often make enormous decisions rooted not in fear so much as uncertainty, even laziness, as well as a comfort with their lives as they've lived them until the present juncture." What is left unsaid is the consequences of those decisions, that we are left to look out the window and consider. Well done.

I knew nothing about Lovesong going into it and was initially pleasantly surprised by what was going on. The direction and somewhat minimal dialogue was creating a real vibe that drew me in. The main character Sarah has some things going on inside her but as the film progressed I felt like she was drifting away and I knew her less, not more as things progressed. Then her friend Mindy comes for a visit and things come into focus again. You can tell these two are close but Sarah is the type of person in my mind is kind of hard to be friends with as she seems to always be holding back. Some people are just that way but it was a bit frustrating at times. The ending felt a bit abrupt but overall Lovesong is worth checking out if you're genuinely interested but not essential viewing.

Lovesong (2016) was co-written and directed by the Korean-American filmmaker So Yong Kim. It stars Riley Keough as Sarah, a young married woman who might as well be a single mom. (Her husband is away for months on business.) Sarah lives in a beautiful home, in a beautiful setting. She has a great daughter, Jessie, played at age three by Jessie OK Gray, and at age six by Sky OK Gray. (I assume they are the director's two daughters.)

Enter Sarah's old friend Mindy (Jena Malone) who lives in New York City. They haven't seen each other for years, but they're still good friends. We get a sense that they're more than good friends, but director Kim is discrete about these things. After spending the night together, Mindy leaves for NYC. The women don't meet up again until three years later.

There was a good movie in here somewhere, but it never made its way out. Both women are moody, taciturn, and passive. As an example, it apparently never occurs to Sarah that she could do more with her life than be a mother to Jessie, and wait for her husband to return home. How about leaving Jessie with a sitter and volunteering for a political cause or for a library? Nope. She just sits home, takes walks, and sulks.

Mindy doesn't appear to have any thoughts at all. She makes an offhand comment about work, but she never says what she does and how she does it. She certainly has a gamine-like charm, but we don't see anything else to recommend her as a friend or as a person.

This is the movie to see if you want a story about two attractive women who don't really connect with each other or with the world. Otherwise, find a better movie and watch that one.

We saw this film at the excellent Little Theatre, as part of the wonderful ImageOut Rochester LGBT Film Festival. It will work well on the small screen.

Lovesong is one of 22 films that had their New York State premiere, or their East Coast premiere, at ImageOut. My compliments to the ImageOut Programming Committee for their great success in bringing these films to Rochester.