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Love the Hard Way

Adrien Brody (Actor), Charlotte Ayanna (Actor), Peter Sehr (Director, Writer) Rated:
R
Format: DVD
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 115 ratings
IMDb6.3/10.0
Additional DVD options Edition Discs
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DVD
October 27, 2003 		—
1
—
$27.01 $4.99
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Love The Hard Way — —
Genre Drama
Format Color, Multiple Formats, Dolby, Widescreen, NTSC
Contributor Jonathan Hadary, Katherine Moennig, Elizabeth Regen, Michael G. Chin, Marie Noelle, Shuo Wang, Jon Seda, Liza Jessie Peterson, Peter Sehr, Pam Grier, Adrien Brody, Charlotte Ayanna, Ben Wang, Joey Kern, August Diehl See more
Language English, French, German, Spanish, Russian
Runtime 1 hour and 44 minutes

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4.2 out of 5 stars
115 global ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

  • TeacherTasha
    5.0 out of 5 stars Love the hard way
    Reviewed in the United States on June 7, 2011
    Verified Purchase
    This movie absolutely took my breath away. I was laughing crying and on the edge. Towards the end I thought Claire had died because she had sliced her wrist. And I couldn't help but feel a surge of coldness towards Jack [Adrien Brody] for not admitting how he really felt about Claire. And I couldn't help but laugh and say that's just what you get when he nearly got stabbed to death when he was in jail. He needed to feel the pain Claire felt, when he left her. This movie I have been sending to all my friends and people who I use to date. To show them, that that is not the kind of man you want to be, a hustler. This movie has a powerful lesson to it about love, crime and life. I felt sorry for Jack because his dad Od' when he was 6 and his mom traded him for her habit and he was forced to live in a boy's home. He didn't know about love, or how to even treat girls. The streets is what taught him what he knows. And then there is Claire, the college student who never had sex [until she meets Jack] and she doesn't know what he has been through. Until she emerses herself into his world of pretty much hurt, pain and crime. It's a good movie and has a lot of lessons to it. Lessons like "Just because it started out bad, doesn't mean it has to end bad." and "All it takes is one bad person to mess you up." Claire could have easily stayed away from Jack and focused on her studies and got a better man. I think the chemistry was just there. And she thought she was getting something faster. This movie has numerous lessons to it about life. Lessons I can't possibly name. This movie had me laughing, crying, thinking and pondering all at different times. It was like a big old slap of reality.
    And this is movie definitely is an example of love: the hard way!!!!!
    2 people found this helpful
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  • S. Rossi
    5.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully Brutal Movie
    Reviewed in the United States on May 4, 2008
    Verified Purchase
    Somehow in my late night meanderings through cable television I found this movie, and having loved Brody's performance in "The Pianist" decided to see what it was about. In the years since, every time it has aired I have watched it with the same fascination as at my first viewing.

    As my title states this movie is brutally beautiful. So brutal at times, and so heartbreaking in other times. I have not seen a movie that has so transfixed me with the complexity of the characters. Under other direction the characters could have been shown as black/white, good/bad: the director brings to it beautiful shades of gray.

    It could have been easy to hate Jack for what he did to Claire. I would compare their characters as Claire is a fragile flower,delicate, beautiful. I see Jack's fragility in beneath his tough exterior, as he went farther down with Claire, and his outside shell was broken he had the fragillity of a crystal vase.

    He has destroyed himself with what he has done to her. In this realization I believe Jack at the end somewhat redeems himself in his writing and explanation. While scrubbing The blood from the floor I feel that every drop that was sunk in the floor was a tear in Jack's soul. Being one who prefers to keep her "rosy glasses" on, I would wish that in some way they would find that brutal, beautiful, fragility within their characters and find a way to be together.
    I don't know why I hadn't ordered the film sooner and deprived myself of the beautiful acting in this film, but no more.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • J. Peterson
    5.0 out of 5 stars Surprisingly compelling
    Reviewed in the United States on August 5, 2007
    Verified Purchase
    Originally I rented this movie because I am a songwriter and have a song in it. My family watched it second on a double movie night and we agreed it was heads above the "Major" movie rental we watched first.

    Adrien Brody is brilliant in exemplifying a con man you can't help but fall in love with. He is no real treat for the eyes, yet comes across as the sexy bad boy. The well written plot entwines two people of opposite backgrounds and personality types into a bad relationship which, for some reason, you hope will work out.

    While not a movie for small children, I recommend this indie film highly for the entertainment factor. I have had to endure some pretty boring indy movies to hear how a song of mine was used, but this one was not one of them. I got so wrapped up in the plot that sometimes I forgot to listen for my song. By the way, it was the ONE country song in the whole movie in a bar scene. I bought the movie recently and feel it is an asset to my movie library!
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Kathleen M. Terry
    4.0 out of 5 stars Defenses
    Reviewed in the United States on April 18, 2005
    Verified Purchase
    I saw this movie as being a study in what people are capable of doing once their defenses get broken down.

    Jack's character is actually more straightforward than Claire's. He's had a rough life, built strong bonds with a few friends and keeps everyone and everything else at a safe distance with a combination of wit, rudeness and honesty.

    Claire's best defense is her own innocence. Once she's lost that, every choice is open and she pushes the wrong ones because she doesn't understand how to protect herself or why she should try.

    What happens between the characters gets more interesting as Jack becomes aware of Claire's innocence just as he's taking it from her - he knows what's happening but can't stop himself either from continuing to hurt her or from caring about the damage he's doing. Claire is certain that she can get through Jack's defenses and is willing to do whatever it takes - even when it seems she's finally given up.

    It took me three tries to get all the way through this movie, but once I did the strange editing made sense and I learned to really love these characters.
    4 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Good
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 18, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    Good !
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  • みゆゆ
    5.0 out of 5 stars DVDは持って無かったので購入
    Reviewed in Japan on May 26, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    SHOW—YAのファンで、ビデオは持っていたのですが、DVDは持って無かったので購入しました。
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  • Willi Film
    5.0 out of 5 stars Ganz toller Film
    Reviewed in Germany on April 9, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    Ich war echt skeptisch, da mir der Film und die beiden jungen Hauptdarsteller überhaupt nichts gesagt haben. Aber der Film ist einfach klasse.
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  • カリスマ介護士
    5.0 out of 5 stars いいです。
    Reviewed in Japan on November 9, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    とにかく安いです。映像にも問題なく、すてきなライブを観ることが出来ました。
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  • s brown
    4.0 out of 5 stars fabulous film really enjoyable
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 6, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    considering the subject of the film this was tough one to pull off which the actors did overall very well.
    Its a fun film but hits you with a stick of hard reality ; great film about survival when one has had a tough life
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