This film is superb.
The acting, script and understated, non-intrusive direction deserves a much higher rating.
Some great laugh out loud moments and great quotes: "let's go back to the house...I've got this karate tape we could watch".
in fact it's almost poetic the way the story unravels....
"This film is superb and totally underatted..."
I concur. PSH is brilliant in this film.
i just saw it for the first time last night and i amazed me. one of my all time favorites, maybe my absolute favorite of all time. absolutely brilliant. the scene where he's trying to put flowers on the grave was incredible!
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It's brilliant. PSH should have at least been nommed for an Oscar.
I haven't seen Capote yet, but I blindly hope he wins the Oscar for his role in that film, just to balance my brain out a little !
at least a place where I can find people that liked this movie! I thought I was alone in the world!
shareThe scene where he finds his things at his mother-in-law's house then goes upstairs and sees her sitting there holding the letter... my god, what an incredible scene... he communicates so much emotion with his expression.
I like this movie very much for the original story line and great acting. I do however understand why it is so underated and overlooked. Most people just can not, or will not, watch a movie like this. I'm just glad that I can find others here who feel the way I do about this wonderful film.
There may well be any number of people who reject this film because it is too dark, too painful, or just too strange. I certainly disagree with people who call it a "terrible" or even "bad" movie. But I can attest that it is possible to enjoy dark and painful independent cinema (I consider films like Wendy & Lucy, Un Coeur en Hiver, and Melancholia to be absolute masterpieces, for instance), and to appreciate the acting here, without feeling that this film rose to any great heights.
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See a list of my favourite films here: http://www.flickchart.com/slackerinc
"Wendy & Lucy" fantastic film as was this one, real slices of life
shareYup, it's a really great, beautiful film.
I've read many articles on PSM (pre-Capote) where the writer laments how he has never been given the starring role he deserves, but they completely neglect to mention this superb movie. Just because it's an indie with a lot of indie sensibilities, doesn't make it any less fine.
This was an amazingly well acted, touching film that reminded me of the maverick movies that Bob Rafaelson and John Cassavetes made in the '70s that might star, say, Jack Nicholson and Gena Rowlands. I appreciate the fact that dialogue "flubs" were left in; that is how people speak. I also love the fact that at many points, you didn't know whether to laugh or cry; that is how life is. I didn't mind that the ending is ambiguous; how could it be anything but?
Ironically, after I watched this, I saw Philip Seymour Hoffman on "60 Minutes" talking about his own past drug problems.
Nice to see someone focused on the lighter points of the movie.
My favorite part was in the break room at the office when he started laughing and it creeped everybody out and they left and he just kept laughing. It was funny but hard to watch. It was like he was so sad for so long that he forgot how it felt to laugh so when he remembered, he sort of overdosed on it.
I guess what I liked the most about the movie was it was something I could grab. I am married and I don't have to imagine what it would feel like to lose my wife because I can watch this movie and see myself going through it just like that. I don't think I'd develop a huffing addiction but I am sure it would be something else.
The only thing negative I have to say about it is that I always find it hard to be entertained by someone else's pain. I like stupid comedy like Aqua Teen but sometimes this kind of comedy to me goes beyond dark. These kind of movies poke fun at things that are very private for people.
I put this movie in the same box as Sideways but I think this storyu was a little better. I think they were equal as far as their execution goes. Great acting.
This film was brilliant. PSH is my favorite actor, hands down, and after watching this i am just, sort of speech less. My favorite scene, oddly, is where he is in the pancake diner eating the stack of pancakes; and for a moment it seems as though he realizes that he is losing it, but almost being alright with that. Maybe thats just how i interpret it but either way, EXCELLENT FILM.
shareLiked it too.. a lot actually. I was just reading an article on Capote in Dutch TV mag 'VPRO', and noticed people not noticing Love Liza. Indeed, underrated!
shareThis movie is...fantastic, no other way to describe it. I just saw it now, like it just ended and I'm amazed. I've seen about 5 minutes of it before, but didn't have the time to watch it. This movie will leave you feeling...so strange, I never seen a movie to capture a horrible life so perfectly. It's an indie movie, yet it doesn't fall into stereotypes of I flicks. It's amazing, I can't relate to the characters at all, and thats what's so brillent. It's written so well.
shareThis movie is absolutely brilliant and totally underrated!... PSH was freakin amazing! I just rented it and plan on buying it tomorrow. It is an amazing script, and just great cinematography! omg, i just can't believe how brilliant this film is... absolutely brilliant. i love the shot of him at the house and he's wearing that dark green shirt... and its just such great lighting and just an amazing shot (also all the shots at the gas station are beautiful)... wow.. 10 stars!!
shareI agree with everyone here. Amazing film that has been ignored, but certainly not by me. Definitely one of my favorites.
sharein fact it's almost poetic the way the story unravels...I agree... brilliant...
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I absolutely loved this -
"I talk to god but the sky is empty"
SP
This is a very touching, bittersweet and beautifully acted film. How Philip Seymour Hoffman was not nominated for an Oscar for this role is beyond me. He brilliantly communicated so many different stages of grief and denial. The end is heartbreaking and shattering to watch.
I also agree that it has a lot in common with a lot of great, character-driven 70s films directed by Bob Rafelson, John Cassavetes or Hal Ashby (particularly Harold & Maude and Being There). I love movies like that, and Love Liza stands proudly alongside them.
Totally agree with you - it was so moving and Hoffman was brilliant
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Hoffman is just the best, isn't he? Frankly I'm in awe of that dude's acting talent.
shareThat's weird, these forums were empty just a few months ago. Anyway, it's great that this movie is being discovered by more people. This one somehow went completely under the radar.
shareI'm surprised that it only has a little over 2,500 votes here, especially considering PSH's insane popularity rise since Capote.
It really is a hugely underappreciated film. It's simultaneously sad and hysterical, and PSH gives one of his best performances, showing that he is without a doubt one of the best actors working today.
Nice post biohazardehw, I totally agree. Hoffman is an incredible actor and Love Liza is an undoubted high point of his career to date. I never get tired of re-watching this one.
shareThis movie has been on my 'must see' list for ages, and yesterday I finally watched it. It's great indeed, I agree with all of you. I haven't seen Capote yet, but I can imagine he deserved that oscar.
He is good in any film. I'm actually sort of proud of him, because in his first couple of films I already discovered his talent. I don´t mean to brag, I´m just a huge fan.
For example his role in Scent of a Woman as George Willis Jr was right on the money. The way he portrayed a wealthy student was excellent.
And his role in Sydney (or Hard Eight) as the young craps player was so funny, I laughed my ass off.
Then we have Boogie Nights, The Big Lebowski, The Talented Mr. Ripley (Freddie Miles: ´women, don´t you just wanna *beep* ´m all just once`).
And then came Magnolia! Phil Parma is amazing, his body language is the best. What he can say without speaking, as in this film.
Someone mentioned the scene where he finds his stuff in the basement of his mother-in-law, walks upstairs and sees her with the letter in her hands, that´s great acting.
State and Main, Almost Famous, Punch-Drunk Love, Red Dragon, 25th Hour, Cold Mountain, Along Came Polly (also with this basketball act) and perhaps others are all great performances by him.
Anyway I´d just like to say this was another great movie, I just cannot get enough of PSH.
knaak1, you are so right. Hoffman is one of American cinema's greatest actors. His facial expressions, body language, vocal inflections, the whole lot is stunning. He will go down in history books as one of the greats.
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