Product Details

• Actors: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Annie Morgan, Kathy Bates, J.D. Walsh, Jimmy Raskin
• Directors: Todd Louiso
• Writers: Gordy Hoffman
• Producers: Alain de la Mata, Chris Hanley, Clark McCutchen, D. Scott Lumpkin, Daniel Guckau
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Sony Pictures
• VHS Release Date: May 27, 2003
• Run Time: 90 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00008WJEU
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #350,665 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant portrayal of loss and dispair, May 31, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Love Liza (DVD)

I'm not sure how or why the other two reviewers missed the point of the movie. Hoffman is simply brilliant as Wilson, a young man trying to cope with everyday life after his wife kills herself less than 3 weeks earlier. She left a note, which Philip Seymour Hoffman finds but struggles to work up the courage to open and read. His newfound addiction to 'huffing' gas only adds to his inability to handle work, his friends, or doing anything other than getting high. If you like Philip Seymour Hoffman in his other depressing work (Happiness), you'll see that he's become a master of the role.

Yes, there are moments of uncomfortable laughter, but that doens't make Love Liza a comedy. Its not. Its a very depressing, yet wonderfully acted, film. The dialog was natural -- which is to say that it was simple, confused, and sometimes directionless -- exactly how you would expect an addicted, young man coping with the suicide of his wife would be.

Kathy Bates is excellent as the mother of the deceased, trying to cope with her loss as well. She battles with Hoffman, trying to be supportive, yet urging him to open the letter, hoping to find some answers to why her daugter killed herself.

This is a brilliant film, with Philip Seymour Hoffman at his absolute best. But if anyone suggests that this is a "dark comedy" - beware. There is no comedy here. Unless you think coping with the loss of your wife is funny.

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Little Indie..Big on Talent and Storytelling, October 10, 2004

By 

L. Shirley "Laurie's Boomer Views" (Huntington Beach,CA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Love Liza (DVD)

This review refers to the DVD edition of "Love Liza" Columbia TriStar/Sony PIctures)...

More and more I find myself turning to the Independent films to find a story with substance. Although shot on a low budget, "Love Liza", is one of those Indies, that manages, with the help of an intellegent screenplay, and some innovative filming(and a little help from Philip Seymour Hoffman and Kathy Bates), to tell a story that will touch it's audience on many levels.

As the film opens, we watch the first scene in silence, and see a man distraught over the recent suicide of his wife. Wilson Joel(Hoffman) is a man who cannot even bring himself to sleep in his own bed. A man who cannot even sleep at all. But this is quite a different take on loss then we have seen in such films as "Sleepless In Seattle". Wilson seems to be sinking more and more into his own world, using gasoline fumes to take him away from reality, and not even noticing the rest of the world going by around him.

Friends and co-workers walk on egg shells around him, knowing the pain he is feeling...all except his mother-in-law Marianne(Bates), who never lets up on trying to bring him back to the living. Wilson has found a note left by his wife, and although he carries it with him everywhere, can not bring himself to read it. The audience may sense that the guilt he feels, and what he may find in the letter, may be too much for him to bear.

It's a drama about grief, but with comedic touches just in the right places, as well as some nice ironic twists to think about. Hoffman is superb. He portrays Wilson in a way that will be tugging at your heart one moment and laughing the next. Kathy Bates excellent as always, as the woman grieving over the death of her daughter, but strong enough to see and do something about the world Wilson has gone to. I hope we will see more from Director Todd Louiso(You remember him..Chad the Nanny from "Jerry Maguire"). His wonderful behind the camera talent is obvious from this film. Gordy Hoffman's extraordinary screenplay couldn't have been in better hands.

The DVD presents a very nice clear picture in Widescreen. Colors are used well in this film and are vibrant on the transfer. The sound is very good in Dolby Surround. Features include commentary by Louiso, and Hoffman, Filmographies and trailers.

This film in an hour and a half, had me really caring about the main character, something I don't often see in recent films that are twice as long.
Recommended for those who are looking for something a little different from the rest. Something with substance, something to think about afterwards.....Laurie

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Quintessential Phillip Seymour Hoffman, February 27, 2004

By 

K. Driscoll - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Love Liza (DVD)

To have such an amazingly deep sense of drama but yet have such a shallow and flat story that does little more than put you through hell for 90 minutes is a shame...but Love Liza is not a bad movie. There is little in way of symbolism or lessons learned in this film, it merely tells of a man who tragically loses his wife to suicide and attempts to comment no further. If watching a movie that attempts to challenge your patience for the sadness is something you enjoy then Love Liza would be recommended, but the film simply lacks the meat that exists in so many films that are meant to entertain and/or to make you think.

On the upswing we get to see Phillip Seymour Hoffman in a feature role where he is free to do what he does better than anyone...whine, gripe and look utterly disoriented. He is a fantastic actor and this role sharpens and showcases his talents brilliantly. Kathy Bates is also very enjoyable as his mother in law, the mother of his late wife.

One thing is for sure, you'll be sad and wanting more from this film but part of that is intentional. It's a small movie in more ways than one but if you've enjoyed Phillip Seymour Hoffman in Boogie Nights or Happiness, this is his reprisal of those roles in some respects and we seem to get an even closer look as he takes it to another level here...that counts for something. Hoffman is a phenomenal actor.