Feast of Love

This movie was like a good book, one that you can curl up with and enjoy from start to finish.

There were strong multiple stories, especially the characters who were in situations that they knew were hurting themselves as well as others.

As usual the narration of Morgan Freeman is worth the price of admission. For most of the movie he hides his own pain, but at the same time is able to reach out to help those who need it.

Perhaps it's not a movie for everyone, but if you've been around for a while, you can certainly identify with some of the characters and their stories.

This is one of the better pictures I've seen this year (albeit there weren't very many good pictures this year) and I would highly recommend it.

Shrewd marketing meant that Feast of Love's release here was to coincide with the extremely commercial Valentine's Day celebrations, but sometimes I wonder the value of such a move, because do you really want to spend that day dedicated to declarations of undying love, in a darkened cinema hall, involved in what is essentially a solitary activity, at least until the lights come on.

But to those who decide to do so, Feast of Love lives up to its namesake. Based on the novel by Charles Baxter, almost every conceivable notion of the modern relationship gets worked into the entire story. And it helps too with an ensemble cast filled with beautiful leads, from young upstarts to wisely veterans. As with most movies with a huge cast, everyone's connected to one another through the inevitable six degrees of separation, naturally for convenience, but in this aspect, it played to the early monologue and we take on the role of the Greek Gods, who introduced the notion of love and see how each of our human creations scuttle around trying to make sense of it, and through their individual journeys, succeed or fail, laugh or cry, get spurned on to heights unimaginable, or get thrown into the depths of heartbroken despair.

Morgan Freeman can almost sleepwalk through any wise, sagely character roles. After all, he's played the most powerful man on Earth before, and even God himself, twice. Here, he's Harry Stevenson, a university lecturer on a leave of absence who together with his wife Esther Stevenson (Jane Alexander), are grieving the lost of their only son. His best friend is a coffee joint owner Bradley Thomas (Greg Kinnear), who is just about the most unlucky bloke when it comes to affairs of the heart, with his female engagements being Selma Blair, Radha Mitchell and Erika Marozsan, who enter at different points of his life. Then there's Bradley's employee Oscar the baristas, whom we follow in a tale of young, passionate love at first sight with Chloe (Alexa Davalos).

As I mentioned earlier, every conceivable aspect of love get played on the big screen. You have the young love at first sight, the tried and tested bonds between the elderly who fear about impending departure from one another through death, you have ugly divorces, and worse, if it's for a member of the same sex, you have adultery and the exploration what makes it worse - knowing that you're cheating on your spouse, or cheating on a potential spouse because you've led them to believe that you're in exclusivity, and of course, parental love and guidance given towards a child.

Come to think of it, there're quite a number of negative emotions that get played through the movie, but ultimately, it's still provides a positive effect through the lessons learnt from succinct encounters that the characters go through. Such as whether you'll find the courage to go through hardship and difficulties with the other half, knowing the consequence of it all, finding little happiness and blessings in your daily life despite setbacks that take a stab through your heart, and what I thought was a very, very apt reminder and an important lesson to be learnt, is to always open your eyes and not be blindsided by love just because of the endorphins that course through your entire body make it seem that you can tolerate shortcomings for the longer term.

It's a reminder that in relationships, one has to be first honest with oneself, before seeking out that somebody else. Ditch those baggage, and fear not to break away amicably should you realize that things aren't working out right. Never give up hope, and to keep to your vows should you already have made them. Love is in the air, but pragmatism should sometimes prevail or be considered in tandem.

Greetings again from the darkness. Director Robert Benton has only made 11 movies in 35 years. What is consistent with each of his films is the way he peels back the layers of humanity. He really explores the different personalities in people. Think of the Hoffman/Streep split in "Kramer vs. Kramer" and you will see the similarities with the break-up here of Greg Kinnear and Selma Blair. The number of intimate moments and personal insecurities are too many to count ... just like real life.

Rarely do you see one partner slap the other in the midst of an affair when the one slapping is trying to lecture the soon-to-be-married other one that her morals need to be straightened out before she weds. In other words ... do as I say, not as I do. Another good story line involved two young broken people who try to accept that life and love can be good. Played well by Toby Hemingway and a stunning Alexa Davalos, the two lovers have overcome much in their lives and certainly appreciate the bond they have.

The best story line in the film is the magic of Morgan Freeman and Jane Alexander, playing the oldest interracial couple I can remember seeing on film. They are both hurting deeply from the loss of a son, yet the strength of their relationship allows them to deal with grief in separate ways, while still being there for each other. Two excellent performances.

The center of the film is the lovable, clueless, hopeless-romantic played by underrated actor Greg Kinnear. We see two relationships (Selma Blair and Radha Mitchell) end badly for him, yet he clings to his belief that LOVE is what it's all about.

I like how the only kids involved in this real world mess are old enough to make their own decisions. It would have been easy to toss in a kid or two to tug even harder at the tear ducts, but this remained an adult story for adults ... and there are far too few of these. Be forewarned , this is no light-hearted chick flick. It could be termed a romantic drama but more accurately a human drama.

I was down from Maine last week and was lucky enough to attend a screening of Feast of Love in New York City. I can't stop thinking about this film. It raises so many questions. What makes us fall in love with someone? If you love a person enough can you make them fall in love with you? With all the people who cross your path why do you fall in love with one but not the others? What is it that makes you fall in love with someone at first sight? How could you be married to someone and not have any idea that that person no longer loves you back? In the end the film gives hope to all of us who have loved and lost that we can find love again, and that that love can come in many different forms and configurations. The movie made me laugh and made me cry. The acting was wonderful and I felt the characters heartbreak as well as their blind optimism. The nude scenes, although explicit, were a natural as part of the relationships of the characters. If you're looking for a film to make you laugh, make you cry and make you think then this would be a good film for you. One of the best movies I've seen in a long time.

This film features a very impressive and talented cast with wonderful (and some very brave) performances by nearly everyone on screen (particularly from Alexa Davalos, Radha Mitchell and Billy Burke). Unfortunately, "Feast of Love" is such a complete and shallow mess from start to finish you almost don't care how well performed it is. The film attempts to be so deep and meaningful that nearly every scene, scenario and line of dialogue are simply ridiculous. It tries too hard and achieves very little. I can't comment on Charles Baxter's original novel, but I think it's safe to say that Robert Benton (director), Allison Burnett (screenwriter) and Andrew Mondshein (film editor) conspired to make the most incoherent mess they possibly could. Cut this feature to an hour running time including commercials and throw it on USA Network or Lifetime, because it doesn't cut it as a film. This is a prime example of poor film-making and storytelling that just wastes some truly great performances by a very dynamic and talented cast.