Loving - Gioco crudele

Even George Segal himself acknowledged that he had a bland screen presence (Halliwell's Film Guide-1995). Most people wouldn't list him as one of their favorite actors. However, he was definitely okay for this film. Segal's character in this movie is quasi-tragic, a talented commercial artist and a family man, married to adequately attractive Eva Marie Saint and with two cute, wise-cracking daughters. Why he seems to want (or needs) to throw this away for drinking and women makes for somewhat compelling viewing, and leads to a great climax at a party for a lot of sophisticated art types on a very cold winter's night, in which first a lot of drinking and then temptation lead to one of the better conclusions you're likely to see.

In the great Jean Renoir classic "Rules of the Game", a character played by the director himself comments that "everybody has his own good reasons." This rightly has been taken to be the great humanist director's basic philosophy of life. Seeing, over and over again, this understanding, non-judgmental attitude by a narrative artist toward his characters' weaknesses is what makes art film audiences love Renoir's work and consider him one of the greatest filmmakers of the 20th century. Irvin Kershner's "Loving" is one of the rare Hollywood films worthy of being called Renoirian, and it is for just this reason. Even though "Loving" is filled with highly-flawed characters making seemingly disastrous choices about their lives, its genius is how it puts the audience in a position where it cannot (or at least cannot with any decency) judge them. This may be more than many audience members can handle, being so used to films with heroes and villains about whom they are allowed to feel smugly superior. The legendary "New Yorker" critic Pauline Kael, in her rave review of the film, wrote that it "looks at the failures of middle-class life without despising the people; it understands that they already despise themselves" and that there's "a decency in the way that Kershner is fair to everyone." We could use a few more films like "Loving" out there in the American film cannon. If you every get a chance to see this film, don't hesitate to do so!

LOVING is a film for the patient movie buff. It is not a film for those who want to see murders or car crashes every five minutes. It is a maturely-told, sensitively-acted, -written and -directed film about a commercial artist's marital (and extra-marital) entanglements. It relies on character rather than plot to convey its points.

All the actors are spotless in their portrayals, especially George Segal and Eva Marie Saint as the artist and his harried wife. It is a film that slowly builds interest in the characters which is amply rewarded for the audience by the film's conclusion. LOVING is a film that will leave you silent at the end, and thinking about it for days afterward.

I was surprisingly impressed by this film. It's a very 60's film about the self destruction of a 60's illustrator whose is going through some kind of middle-age crazy. As others have said, it takes a lot of patience to get through to the final, awesome scene. Very touchy-feeley, but you never get a definite answer about George Segal's feelings and thoughts. His mistress is not that enthralling and neither is the neighbor-hood wife that he succumbs to. Sherry Lansing, in a small part is extremely beautiful. All the acting is good especially George Segal and Eva Marie Saint. You could almost get woozy from all the alcohol consumed and the cigarette smoke. Lots of early appearances from up and coming actors such as Roy Schneider and Sterling Hayden. Anyway, this all leads up to a party that is totally humiliating and cringe-worthy. I kind of remember parties like these! It all ends abruptly and on a down note. If you like introspective, depressing movies with a large dose of humiliation, this is for you.

I have always loved "Loving. That's partly because during the 1970's I was an aspiring commercial artist in Sydney, Australia. My heroes were the great illustrators, mainly American: Norman Rockwell, Tom Lovell, Robert McGuiness, Bob Peak, Mitchell Hooks, dozens of them. I kept scrapbooks of their work - it wasn't safe to leave a magazine near me in those days.

"Loving" gave an insight into their world - sort of.

Brooks Wilson is a struggling illustrator in New York who is about to land a big account (the type that would have gone into my scrapbooks). However Brooks isn't happy. He is married to Selma (Eve Marie Saint) who loves him, and has two precocious daughters, but he is having an affair on the side. Brooks is bitter about many things and lets everyone down - it's hard to feel sorry for him.

Like many illustrators, Brooks feels his work is just to pay the bills and isn't that worthwhile. In a telling scene, Brook's crosses a busy street in New York to look at some enigmatic paintings hanging in the window of an art gallery - real art.

The film is based on a novel by J. M. Ryan, the pen name of John McDermott. McDermott was an accomplished illustrator especially of action scenes. He also hated the changes the filmmakers made to the story.

McDermott's illustrations were used as props in the movie and can be seen in the agent's office, and when the assistant visits Brooks at home. All the detail of Brooks' art life is authentic, especially his working methods. In one fascinating sequence, Selma puts down her knitting to pose as a Southern belle for reference for sketches Brooks needs to have ready in the morning.

George Segal's persona as a nice guy who somewhere along the way got cynical is in full flower here. The film was made at a time when faith in institutions was under pressure. "Loving" captures a disillusioned, hedonistic vibe with middle-aged guys running around with their new cookies.

Keenan Wynn plays Brook's harassed agent, while Sterling Hayden as the demanding client, Lepridon, almost seems to be channelling Captain Ahab, and Roy Scheider has a small role as an ad rep.

"Loving" is a bit close to the bone to be a comedy, but it's better than its obscurity would indicate. And if you feel nostalgic for those magnificent, hand-drawn illustrations of yesteryear, then it's a film to appreciate on a number of levels.