Movie Review: A Love Song

 

Michael's Movie Grade: A-

A beautiful and moving film.

Despite the title this is not a typical romance film in any way. In fact, this movie is often less about romance then it is about living life even after something very painful. In this movie an older woman (Dale Dickey), after the painful loss of her husband simply hides herself in her trailer, isolating herself from the rest of the world. After years of living like this she decides to meet with a childhood friend (Wes Studi), who she has not seen in a very long time. Unlike what most movies would do this film is not focused on the idea of this woman finding a new romance. Rather the point of the film is her need to stop going through the motions and enjoy herself again. I feel this is a much more important moral. Sometimes what people need is not something external or a new romance, because if they don't take care of what they internally feel, this all means nothing.

The style of this film will turn many people off very quickly, but once you think about it this to tell the story. The movie is quite slow moving and very quiet. This may turn off those used to more action based and faster moving films. Yet without this slow pace, the film would not have the same impact. In the early scenes you simply see a woman doing repetitive everyday tasks without talking to many people or having much of an emotional reaction to what she is doing. Without much exposition the story is perfectly set up. We understand that this woman is hurting and isolating herself with few friends or family. To tell so much by doing so little is pure cinema and the kind of art that only movies can create. As the film moves along we see her interacting with her childhood friend and some of the blanks are filled. Yet this remains a slower moving and quieter movie. There is little focus on any big romantic scenes between the two but instead the focus of the film is on the smaller scenes with the two of them. This is important as while we may overlook these smaller moments when they happen, when we feel lonely or miss people it is these moments that we look back on with the most fondness. That can make these scenes the most charming and beautiful parts of the picture. 

Just as well as this movie knows how to use silence it knows how to use music. Music is this film isn't just something the characters listen to in this film. It is something that helps them express how they feel much more eloquently than they can say normally. Our main character has a radio that she claims that if you just turn the dial the perfect song will play, even if sometimes you don't know why it is the perfect song at the moment. Every song used in this movie perfectly fits the internal emotions of the character and there is no doubt the film would lose something without its soundtrack (for a fan of country and folk music, I especially loved the songs chosen here). One of the most joyous scenes in the picture involves the two childhood friends play and sing a song together. This movie perfectly illustrates the power of music and why it is so important. 

With how incredible the filmmaking is it is hard to believe this is director, Max Walker-Silverman's first feature film. 

This is simply a wonderful film.