Loving (1970)
Review by HTQ4
Film:
DVD:

Written by Don Devlin, based on the novel by J.M. Ryan
Original Songs & Music by Bernardo Segal
Directed by Irvin Kershner
Starring George Segal, Eva Marie Saint, Sterling Hayden, Keenan Wynn, Nancie Phillips, Janis Young

Released by: Columbia Tri-Star
Rating: R
Region: 1
Anamorphic: Yes
My Advice: Rent it

Brooks Wilson (Segal) is an illustrator who has a problem with alcohol. He lives in the 'burbs with his wife (Saint) and two little girls. The problem is that he's not really happy with them, but he's not man enough to admit it to them or to himself. He's working on a big advertising deal for a trucking company that will set him up for life, financially speaking, if he could just keep himself together. Unfortunately, his eye roams a bit too much and this is, as is the norm, going to cause problems.

I think this is the movie that The Ice Storm tried to be. If you are looking for a through-line in the plot, you won't find it, because this is definitely a character piece. Therefore, any quality you find must be in the performances. I get the feeling that Segal could have dug quite a bit deeper in his role; there seemed to be much more to his character below the surface qualities that he was giving us. His relationship with Saint was not very believable, and all of the scenes that showed his home life seemed to be trying to make us feel some sort of sympathy for his character--but it just didn't work. Saint played the betrayed wife well, but not to the point where we could feel any sympathy for her either. Are you getting the idea that there aren't really any sympathetic characters in this film? Don't get me wrong, I think that was the point and, as such, I feel that it is a very strong movie for Kershner. Just don't get the idea that you are going to walk away from this film with a warm, fuzzy feeling deep inside. Oh no, you get to watch Segal destroy his life moment by painful moment.

I can only speculate about Kershner's motivation behind the movie because there is no commentary track on this DVD. This is a shame because I think hearing the background on this would have been very enlightening--and let's face it, Kershner's not getting any younger. Also nice would have been some retrospective interviews with the cast and/or crew to get their take on this film, almost a quarter century later. Hey, at least it's widescreen, right?

That's why I'm only recommending this movie as a rental. It's not worth owning, but it is worth watching, but only if you are into character driven dramatic pieces.