Customer Reviews

Love Liza

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

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

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.

Love Liza is a cinematic masterpiece that takes us into the lonely world of a man consumed with guilt over the suicide of his wife. Phillip Seymour Hoffman gives a stunning and brilliant performance as Wilson. Not long into the movie we find that Wilson's wife Liza left him a suicide note that he cannot bring himself to read. Constantly hounded by his mother-in-law, played to perfection by Kathy Bates, he searches for any kind of release and finds it in an odd form, huffing gasoline fumes. Penned by Hoffman's brother Gordy, this film places us in a position most of us can relate with, the loss of a loved one. Phillip Seymour Hoffman delivers an Oscar calliber performance in a role that seems tailor made for him. Hoffman is strikingly believable and a pleasure to watch. He delivers every emotion and movement in just the right places and with great percision. He is truly one of the greatest actors that Hollywood houses today. I recommend this film to anyone who is a fan of excellent films and actors. Carried by a terrific screenplay and brilliant performances by both Hoffman and Kathy Bates, Love Liza can't miss.

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.

This movie was phenomenal and was gone from the theatres way too quickly -- but luckily for all of us, it's now available on DVD. Phillip Seymour Hoffman's tragic, grief-stricken performance was one of the highlights of this film -- it's about time he was cast in a role that was tailor-made for him as this one was ("Love Liza" was written by his brother Gordy Hoffman).

This film is an excellent portrayal of a man who is coping with the suicide of his wife and who adopts a hobby to cover up a huffing habit as if he were a rebellious teenager. The film ends as abstractly as it begins, without falling into the Hollywood trap of tying everything up into a neat little package, and for that we can all be grateful. It will be interesting to see where director Todd Louiso and the two Hoffmans go next.

Philip Seymour Hoffman has made a career out of playing deeply depressed characters. In "Love Liza," he has found what might well be his most perfectly suited role to date, that of a young man trying to come to terms with the suicide of his wife.

Written by Gordy Hoffman and directed by Todd Louiso, "Love Liza" is a searing study of grief, one that chronicles the many stages a man goes through in coping with this type of tragedy. Wilson first finds himself unable to sleep in the same bed he used to share with his wife. Then he returns to the place where they spent their honeymoon in a vain attempt to find some solace or answers there. Then there's the turn towards self-destruction as he seeks escape from his pain by inhaling mass quantities of gasoline. All along the way, well-meaning friends, colleagues and family members proffer what they can in the way of support and sympathy but, invariably, they find themselves ill-equipped to deal with grief at this level of intensity. This is even the case with Mary Ann, Wilson's understanding mother-in-law, who is having to cope with her son-in-law's dysfunction while also dealing with her own grief at the loss of her daughter.

The title of the film comes from a signed suicide note Liza left to Wilson under his pillow. That letter, which Wilson cannot bring himself to open, only adds to the man's despair, for he fears it may reveal that he was somehow responsible for his wife's actions. Thus, wracked with guilt as well as grief, Wilson slides ever further into that deep dark hole of despair. The filmmakers, in an effort to mitigate some of the misery inherent in the subject matter, invest the story with a number of sly, quirky touches, such as Wilson's sudden obsession with mechanized toy airplanes. But the overwhelming sadness is never far from the film's surface.

"Love Liza" is, at its core, an actor's film - and the cast proves itself worthy of the challenge. Hoffman's portrait of a man whose entire meaning for existence has been knocked out from under him is devastating in its understatement and power. Kathy Bates turns in an equally fine and subdued performance as his grieving mother-in-law, and Sarah Koskoff and Jack Kehler offer fine support.

Is "Love Liza" a "dark" film? Absolutely. But it is also a brave, insightful and compelling one for those willing to enter its world. It may not be easy to watch, but it is probably harder not to.

Love Liza is one of the best dramas I have ever seen. There is little that is funny about it but there are three scenes in the film where one's EQ is brought under a major hammmering. My favourite scene in the film would be the one where Hoffman goes for a swim in a pond. Especially since "Corpus Christi Carol" by Jeff Buckley is going on in the background. The epic song was used perfectly. I love depressive films and it's been a while since I saw one of the stature of Love Liza. There are not many characters in the film which makes it ever so interesting. No Background instrumental music but yet the soundtrack by VA rocked. I was wondering why the letter contained the matchstick towards the end. Excellent interpretation of emotions.

Love Liza shows how a distraught man rebounds into a further state of extreme emotions. Hoffman can not act any better. I rate this movie higher than "as good as it gets" but I don't even know why I'm comparing the two.

P.S - the whole fetish for inhaling fuel was rather interesting

It is safe to say that Philip Seymour Hoffman is one if not the best character actors today. I've been waiting for him to get a major role, and finally it has arrived. In a scrip written by his brother, Philip plays a man who is dealing with his depression over losing his wife in a suicide. Hoffman can portray grief better than any actor I've ever known. Subtly, and tastefully. The screenplay is good, although you can tell that Philip's brother is new to writing screenplays, because there are a few minor problems, the biggest being the fact that Kathy Bate's character clears out all belongings in Philip's house and takes them over to her house in a short time. This seemingly impossibility was noticed by the Hoffman brothers, but they could think of no better way to better portray her wanting Hoffman to see that he "had everything".
The main reason to go see this movie though is for Hoffman's brilliant performance. He gets inside the role, and acts the hell out of it. Kathy Bates and his chemistry works so well, and his emotion is out on his sleeve as you see him revert to a stage of childhood after losing his loved one. Go see it!

Love Liza, written with Philip Seymour Hoffman in mind, is a showcase for arguably one of the greatest contemporary actors working in film. Hoffman portrays Wilson, whose wife unexpectedly took her own life, leaving him with only memories and a suicide note he is too afraid to read. Unable to cope, Wilson turns to huffing gas to dull his senses, and it is a move that plunges his life further into ruin. Along the way, the film explores the friendships Wilson has forged with his mother-in-law and an unusual RC toy enthusiast.

With each cleverly-framed shot, director Todd Louiso effectively portrays the sense of isolation and solitude that the film's protagonist must be experiencing, and Hoffman's characterization of Wilson is absolutely devastating in its effectiveness.

However, on some level, Love Liza fails. Obviously meant as a character study, Love Liza loses a great deal of its effect in the fact that the supplementary characters don't really possess a lot of depth, nor do they help elucidate much depth in Wilson's character. The plot is rather thin at times, and doesn't really explain how Wilson gets hooked on huffing. Was this something he did before his wife's death, or something new he does to cope?

However, the movie is redeemed in part by the denoument, which ends in a way both predictable and unexpected, though I won't divulge any details.

All in all Love Liza, is an excellent showcase for Hoffman's talents, but it falls a little flat by underplaying its potential for emotional effect.

It's difficult to describe the visceral desolation conveyed by this film. I can't think of a single other performer (perhaps maybe Billy Bob Thornton) who could have carried this off. Hoffman's pain is the audience's pain. His compulsion to dull the pain (by, of all things, huffing gasoline) is sadly understandable, even familiar. He's trapped. He can see no other acceptable way out.

He sleeps on the floor because it's the only place in his home (the home where his wife committed suicide) where he CAN sleep. He should move out, buy a new place.

His obnoxious mother-in-law (also grieving) only reminds him of his pain. He should reach out to her - they can help each other work through this pain. His mother-in-law understands their need for each other - he does not.

A profession of attraction for him from a colleague only reminds him of his loss and desolation, causing him to sprint back to his increasingly grim, wood panelled abode where he huffs fumes to the point of delirium, ultimately taking off for days on a bizarre odyssey involving miniature boat racing and his only would-be friend, a hobbyist whose friendship he ultimately rejects.

People who care about him are everywhere - yet he pushes each and every one of them away. Toward the end of the film, his desperation is palpable and his home has become a mausoleum - empty, desolate, full of fumes (can you smell them?), and his own, almost dead, soul. Almost.

He can run. But he cannot hide, from himself, or from God. Hoffman's embarassment, cowardice and fear are achingly real. This intimate film makes us feel his pain yet not reject him for his failings. Who among us is unlike him? Do you dare to look down your nose at his suffering?

The ending to this film is oddly satisfying. It requires genuine faith on the part of the viewer to believe that Mr Hoffman is going to be all right, after all. I believed it. Did you?