Love (2015)

Directed by: Gaspar Noé
Country: France / Belgium

Movie Review: Disgracefully, Gaspar Noé’s “Love” is one of the worst movies of the year. This whimsical creation from the shocking French filmmaker, author of the interestingly disturbing “Irreversible” and “Enter the Void”, depicts the tortuous relationship of a couple translated into a melodramatic sexual trip to nowhere, part of a null plot punctuated with hideous dialogues and an emotional chaos that feels staged all the time. The film starts with a steady long shot of Murphy (Karl Glusman), a filmmaker wannabe, and his former girlfriend, Electra (Aomi Muyock), masturbating each other at the sound of a classical tune. Open-minded with regard to experiencing drugs and exploring their sexuality, the couple occasionally turns into a threesome or embarks in obscure parties whose only purpose is discovering different people and pleasures among orgies. After taking us into these orgies through spasmodic flashbacks that unsuccessfully try to build a balanced narrative, Mr. Noé clarifies that Murphy has a son with Omi (Klara Kristin), a neighbor who had spent one night with the couple. However, the pregnancy wasn't a result of that particular night, but of an infidelity when Electra was out for the weekend. The relationship comes immediately to an end, leading to Electra’s disappearance and leaving the disconsolate Murphy abandoned to his miserable life and thoughts, which are transmitted by a voice-over along the film. Many scenes translate in a nauseating self-pity and a sporadic hysteria that aggravate even more the tasteless plot commonly illustrated by repetitive and unnecessary 3D sex scenes, psychedelic drug trips, and an overall artificial execution. The tacky acting and the lousy score by Lawrence Schulz and John Carpenter were other factors that roundly failed in “Love”, a self-proclaimed sentimental sexuality that it’s not even sexy. Here, the stupid insistence on presenting explicit sex should not be mistaken by boldness. Other filmmakers did it with better results – Vincent Gallo in “Brown Bunny”, Abdel Kechiche in “Blue is the Warmest Color”, and even Lars Von Trier in “The Idiots” took advantage of this factor in a non-monotonous way. What’s the point of introducing a close-up shot from the top of a penis ejaculating? In his eagerness of becoming original, Mr. Noé fell in muddy territory and the result is an infuriating pretentiousness a.k.a. a total waste of time.