When Love Comes

"When Love Comes" is, like many of the recent NZ films, is a "relationship" drama. The plot is slight, but not weak. Don't expect too much to happen- this is a film driven by characters, not by plot, and unlike "Saving Grace", does a good job of it. Obviously, a film like this will live and die on its cast, and thankfully "When Love Comes" boasts a strong ensemble. Rena Owen is good as washed-out torch singer Katie Keane, but Simon Prast shines as "Stephen". His performance is wonderfully understated (to those of us who remember him hamming it up in "Gloss"), and yet powerful at the same time. The weak links are Dean O'Gorman, who is quite good but isn't able to carry the film, and Simon Westaway, whose character Eddie is woefully underwritten- I'm not sure the poor guy knew quite what to do with the part.

"When Love Comes" puts a slightly different spin on the old "young guy wrestles with his homosexuality" to the degree that straight audiences will enjoy it too. However, I think the heterosexual relationship between Katie and Eddie is the least convincing, (possibly because of the problem with Eddie's character) and certainly lacks the conviction of the Mark/Stephen, Fig/Sally, and Stephen/Katie plotlines.

Otherwise, enjoyable.

Stephen (Simon Prast) is a New Zealand gay man pushing 30 (from the wrong side) who has loved and lost in his life. He apparently has some modest financial success but not a lot of fulfillment.

Katie (Rena Owen) is a singer who had several number one songs in the 70's but who is now past her peak. She has accepted a large advance for a new TV pilot (thanks to the efforts of her married lover) but has no inspiration, no ideas and no energy to go on.

Katie and Stephen have been best friends for decades. Together they are both world weary but still hopeful and exhibit the kind of camaraderie that a decades long friendship allows.

When Katie returns from L.A. at the movie's beginning, Stephen has his own problems. He has fallen in love with Mark, (Dean O'Gorman) a former rent boy, who is unable to return his affection. Mark is totally unconvinced of any self worth and can't believe or accept that Stephen is in love with him.

Mark's also involved with Fig and Sally,( Nancy Brunning and Sophia Hawthorne) two girls in a band for which he writes the lyrics. While Fig has eyes only for Sally, Sally enjoys sleeping with men, including Mark. Whether or not Mark has problems with his gayness I'll leave to your judgment, to me his problems seemed more basic than that.

Getting to know these characters as they get to know themselves and as they work through their immediate problems is what makes this a great indie film. If you prefer action-packed movies with loads of special effects, go see something else. This is a small but significant film with honest characters who have personalities. It's also refreshing that the gay characters are accepted as people and aren't `marked for Death/Tragedy' as in so many movies.

For those who are tired of the Hollywood "formula movies" which are filled with mindless dialogue and whose backbone is held up by special effects alone, this is the movie to see. You will not find much of a plot in "When Love Comes Along", but with characters like these who needs one?!. I have never seen a more refreshingly honest array of characters with which to experience so many of life's most influential moments... I loved it.

I love this movie for its quality of style, for the way it portrays its characters and the fact that it does not try to shove its message down your throat. Perhaps that is why it is so underrated... It actually lets you think. It allows you to participate in the characters' lives and make your own decision about them. Not a good thing in an age of appointment books and personal assistants.

If you like to think for your-self I am sure you will like this one.

While I'm generally at all in favor of any film that could be considered artistic, I genuinely enjoyed this one. All of the cast (okay, Eddie didn't grab me... but he also didn't really *do* or *say* anything) was brilliant. The dialogue was fun, the acting was top-notch. Even when the story faltered (and it did drag a couple of times), I feel that the people involved more than made up for it. The only actor I knew going into the piece was Dean O'Gorman, and I was pleased and impressed with his performance. Definitely nice to see him doing something serious (my first exposure being from Young Hercules). I highly recommend the film to anybody in the mood for something a bit unusual and a little slower-paced.

Garth Maxwell co-wrote and directed this 1998 New Zealand film and despite some rough edges in the production process and in areas of weak scripting and format, the message of repairing our individual perception problems in order to be open to acknowledge and embrace love when it comes along is a story worth telling. In the case of this film, it is three stories worth telling! Mark (Dean O'Gorman) is a wannabe songwriter, poet, druggie, and hedonist who has problems with intimacy (we are unsure whether he is comfortable with his sexuality, whether he has been a hustler to support his nebulous lifestyle...). He is introduced to us by his 'pals' - two lesbian performers Fig (Nancy Brunning) and Sally (Sophia Hawthorne) - in a narrative way and who proceed to tell us Mark's history as it has developed in their eyes (this is a bit stagy and awkward, but it gets the story rolling). Mark is the heartthrob of Stephen (Simon Prast), an older, more mature man than Mark who tries to lead him into a productive life. Into town comes New Zealand's most popular singer Katie Keen (Rena Owen) who has come home from a long stay in Los Angeles where her career has been on the skids. She is no longer young, no longer has engagements, and is in need of her closest friend Stephen's consolation.

Katie must confront her age and her career state, Stephen must move on his deep feelings for Mark, Mark must get off the wild life and focus on what matters, and Fig and Sally need to get their amateur status boosted. The cycle of these needs is magnified when the five go to a beach house and Katie's 'boyfriend' Eddie (Simon Westaway) shows up with some surprise news that changes Katie's life, allows Stephen and Mark to confront their blocks, and provides an opportunity for Fig and Sally they least expected.

The cast is for the most part very strong. There are moments of rather bad music performance that could have been edited without diminishing the story, and there are some script techniques that get in the way. But by and large this is a feel good movie that deals with relationships of all types and offers light to people who think they are incapable of love. Maxwell is saying to be ready when love comes along!