Love

I always have problems with beginnings – the beginning of an article, the beginning of a film, the beginning of a relationship, simply because beginnings are crucial in setting the tone and pattern that will lead you all the way through till the end. Naturally being affected by all the negative social media propaganda that Gaspar Noé's Love (2015) has stirred, I was reluctant to even begin watching it because I am inclined to believe that films with explicit sexual content (except for Lars von Trier's Nymphomaniac, and I will tackle why in another review) are made either to sell like cheap porn for lucrative reasons or to assume a false air of originality and experimentation. I have finally decided to watch Love after it was recommended by a trusted friend of mine, and at the end of the day, one has to constantly push their limits in terms of artistic tolerance.

Back to the beginnings, Love begins with a three-minute scene taken in one shot by a steady camera of two people having what seems to be – and what actually turns out to be – unsimulated sex. After overcoming my feelings of discomfort, I started to understand what the Argentinian director is trying to do here. Is it a pornographic scene? It definitely is. But is it meant to be sexually arousing? I would have to argue for a no. Sexual excitement requires a certain amount of build-up, but jumping directly and unexpectedly into the act generates nothing but feelings of shock and unease that would need some time to fade away.

The story then unfolds in a backward linear plot. We are introduced to Murphy (the man in the opening sex scene), a frustrated young man who lives in a small apartment in Paris with his detached girlfriend and their son. The memory-evoked reversed narrative is instigated by a voice message he receives from the mother of his ex-girlfriend Electra (the woman from the opening sex scene), asking for his help to find her daughter. The man and the woman from the first sex scene are no longer strangers; we get to see how they broke up, how they managed their relationship, and finally how they met, with a heap of very long unsimulated sex scenes in between.

As a voyeur (a person who discreetly watches other people in intimate, usually sexual, positions) I was extremely confused since the enjoyment element was missing. Is it because the sex scenes were too many, too long, too real, or too unnecessary? In one of the scenes Murphy says, as a cunning gesture to voice Gaspar Noé's desire, his biggest dream is to make a movie like no other that truly portrays sentimental sexuality. He also tells Electra: "I want to make movies out of blood, sperm and tears. This is like the essence of life. I think movies should contain that, perhaps should be made of that." Well, we see a lot of sperm and tears in that film, there is no doubt about it. It is true Love depicts relationships from an exceptionally crude, raw angle I have never seen before. Sex in cinema – and in life in general – is an uncanny subject; it lies at the essence of everything, everybody knows it is there, yet nobody talks about it overtly.. not in realistic terms at least. The film feels emotionally real. Too real. And not just when it comes to sex, but also to dialogue and performance. In one scene, Murphy tries to get Electra back and he keeps knocking on her door, after a few seconds she opens the door, apparently under the influence of drugs, and screams at him in the most deranged manner you could ever imagine. The camera does not move; it feels like a terrified neighbor watching the scene from the stairs. Most of the camera movement and angles follow the same pattern throughout the movie: the neutral uninvolved medium shot. Mid-film I realized it was not the sex scenes that made me uncomfortable but the fact that the film is devoid of any cinematic, stylistic euphemisms. In conventional romantic films, there is an invisible line separating the romantic from the sexual – love from desire. The subtle message is always: love is sublime and desire is vulgar. The reality of the things, and as presented in the film, is that both are inseparable in their sublimity and vulgarity.

I cannot tell for sure whether I like it or not. Cinema, as Slavoj Žižek puts it, is "the ultimate pervert art" because it does not directly satisfy our desires but manipulates them. It does not show us our capabilities, but give us the illusion that we are capable. Cinema draws the line between imagination and reality and keeps crisscrossing the boundary: it takes imaginary elements and roots them in reality, and sugarcoats real elements in imaginary wraps. The trick is not to call a spade a spade, i.e. not to place two firm feet on one side of the spectrum; otherwise you would shake the balance between reality and imagination that the viewer cannot find in real life.

Whatever your sentiments are towards the film, Noé – purposefully or inadvertently – raises some important issues: what if cinema does away with the aesthetics of presentational euphemism? Would it undermine its role as an artistic medium? Would it put the viewer on the defensive, being constantly faced with the unrefined reality of what (s)he dreads/desires?

The way I see it is that Noé created an extremely stimulating film, not sexually as he probably desired but intellectually and sentimentally.

I'm grateful I watched Love alone and had the chance to struggle with and make sense of all those feelings and thoughts by myself. I can imagine how uncomfortable it would be watching it in a movie theater with other people, let alone how the actors felt while shooting!

I know I only rated it a seven out of ten but that's because I admit this film's faults. It certainly isn't near perfect but I felt very moved by the characters and their story. Lots of people may not be able to relate to this film however those of us that do can say that everything about this depiction of love has been experienced and is real. As a grown single adult living in today's dating world I can attest that the relationship between Murphy and Electra exists. Their obsession with each other and with sex that led them into a deep and possibly unreal infatuation was honest and thought provoking. Love sometimes doesn't make sense and can't be described or made logical. Their connection was what drove them into darkness, madness and despair. Love is completely all consuming on any level it's represented on. So many times have I given myself up for something that a year later I looked back on and couldn't reconcile my behavior, and so many times have I given myself up to something to only sabotage it before it completely devoured me. I don't know if I have been in love, but I have felt what these characters are going through and I wouldn't know what else to call it. In the vein of Harmony Korine and Lars von Trier I think Gasper Noe is a genius. Yes this movie is uncomfortable, yes the acting isn't great and yes the story is dry, but it's a genuine take on what relationships look like for some people in their mid twenties to early thirties and I loved every second of it.

'Love' will most likely be discredited by many due to it's sheer honesty, like many films of it's kind are. Yet this honesty, as brutal and daring as it might seem, feels necessary to connect with and understand what the characters are going through, on an entirely new emotional level. In the words of Murphy, Gaspar Noe might have made the only movie that truly depicts 'sentimental sexuality'.

'Love' has many subtle and not-so-subtle references to the underlying story and to the director himself. Gaspar's mother is named Nora Murphy, while Murphy's son is named Gaspar and Electra's ex boyfriend - Noe. His favorite movie is Kubrick's '2001', while hers is Lang's 'M', both of which seem to fuel Murphy and Electra's behavior throughout the movie, where Murphy is often aimlessly overwhelmed with hope and desire, while Electra seems unable to forgive.

Gaspar Noe constantly cuts through the past and the future, using the techniques he is so familiar with since Irreversible. The movie abruptly switches between various stages of Murphy's and Electra's relationship, always cutting back to the present, where Murphy's is in absolute emotional agony and despair, raising a child with Clara.

At times Murphy and Electra are so deeply engrained in one another that their fights and dialogues seem outright comical and immature, as if we are observing a 16 year- old couple. But this is truly where 'Love' stands out. Being in love feels and looks exactly like this, it's raw, emotional and brutal yet foggy and sweet; when no one else exists or matters.

In one of Electra's and Murphy's conversations they talk about the sad reality that they are going nowhere and dragging each other down, they discuss taking a break. It is an extremely sad and emotional scene, where the thought itself brings so much fear into them, that they simply end up holding each other even tighter.

The script for 'Love' is only 7 pages long. It is full of beautiful and weird dialogues and extremely emotional, 'free-played' graphic scenes. These scenes however are not there to impress the viewer or open the doors to the unknown. This is also not a nymphomaniac-like sexual exploration. Gaspar Noe does a masterful job in showing us the true emotional aspect of love, in it's raw and relatable form, sex.

The sound-score is stunning, with the music gradually changing depending on the mood and the context of the scenes. Even though a lot of times it seems like we are watching the same people 'fuck' in the same positions, different context, feelings and music make each of these scenes truly unique and mesmerizing on it's own.

Noe also does a wonderful job in his minimalistic depiction of the story and the scenery. Murphy and Electra always wear contrasting colors, while the background is usually very simple yet fitting to them both. As if to say that when in love, everything should be seen through the eyes of the lovers.

'Love' might sometimes seem silly, overly graphic and way too sentimental, yet it hits all the right notes.

Love, a film by the provocative French director Gaspar Noe, offers a unique perspective on sex and relationships. While it can be considered an arthouse porn movie, Love's well-crafted cinematography and authentic portrayal of relationships make it intriguing.

Notably, the film sparked discussions due to its unsimulated sex scenes. Noe treats these sequences like meticulously choreographed action pieces, broken up by scenes of dialogue and drama. While one could debate the necessity of these scenes, they undeniably contribute to the film's pursuit of authenticity, as the actors genuinely engage in sexual acts. This rawness adds a level of intimacy seldom witnessed on screen. This added realism is necessary, as the acting, while serviceable, is never great.

However, the inner monologue of our protagonist, Murphy, often comes across as painfully pretentious and grating, detracting from the overall experience. Similarly, the confrontations between Murphy and Electra are cringe-inducing, intentionally highlighting the discomfort and awkwardness that often accompanies real-life relationship conflicts when viewed from the outside.

At 134 minutes, the film is too long, especially when the main character is as unlikeable and toxic as Murphy. It's surprising that a movie titled Love presents such a pessimistic view of love and monogamy, yet this unexpected perspective enhances the film's intrigue and allure.

While I didn't try to think of the song, the line "Baby don't hurt me ... don't hurt me no more" came to mind. And it's not like it doesn't suit or fit with the movie (if you excuse the pun). And let's get this out of the way straight ahead: If you didn't or don't already know, this movie has scenes of explicit sex in it. And it begins with a masturbation scene, to shock you right out of the gate (or those who will be offended by it of course).

It goes without saying that this is full of nudity. You may not have seen this actors before, but you'll see everything of them in this. It's not only being naked physically, but also mentally. Laying emotions out there and going through motions (literally and metaphorically) is draining. Both for the actors and the viewers. The story is simple. It's about love or the idea of it.

Which brings us back to our initial question. Are we able to appreciate what we have? Or do we long for things we can't have? Can we be happy with the person we spend our time or is the temptation for something new too big? Obviously that depends on the individual and their "world" view. Also their emotional state. The movie is as you can tell not an easy watch ... for multiple reasons. The message is clear though ...