Love (2015 film)
Love is a 2015 erotic drama art film[5] written and directed by Gaspar Noé.[6] The film marked Noé's fourth directorial venture after a gap of five years. It had its premiere at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival and was released in 3D. The film is notable for its unsimulated sex scenes.
Love | |
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Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | Gaspar Noé |
Produced by | Vincent Maraval |
Written by | Gaspar Noé |
Starring |
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Music by |
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Cinematography | Benoît Debie |
Edited by |
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Production company |
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Distributed by | Wild Bunch |
Release date |
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Running time | 135 minutes[2][3] |
Country |
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Language | English[2] |
Budget | €2.55 million[1] ($2.9 million) |
Box office | $860,896[4] |
Plot
Murphy is an American cinema school student, living in Paris. He had a French girlfriend, called Electra, whom he dated for two years. One day, Murphy and Electra met and had a no-strings-attached threesome with another woman, a young blonde Danish teenager named Omi, as a way to add some excitement to their love life. But later, Murphy had sex with Omi behind Electra's back, as a result of which Omi became pregnant (the condom broke and she is against abortion). This unplanned pregnancy ended the relationship between Murphy and Electra on a horrible note, and it forced Murphy to live with Omi.
On a rainy 1 January morning, Electra's mother, Nora, phones Murphy at the small Paris apartment where he lives with Omi and their 18-month-old son, Gaspar. Nora asks Murphy if he has heard from Electra. Nora has not heard from her for three months; given Electra's suicidal tendencies, Nora is quite worried about her. For the rest of this day, Murphy recalls his relationship with Electra in a series of fragmented, nonlinear flashbacks. Those flashbacks depict their first meeting in Paris; their quick hookup; and their lives over the next two years, which are filled with drug abuse, rough sex and tender moments.
Cast
- Karl Glusman as Murphy
- Aomi Muyock as Electra
- Klara Kristin as Omi
- Ugo Fox as Gaspar (the baby)
- Juan Saavedra as Julio
- Gaspar Noé as Noé
- Isabelle Nicou as Nora
- Vincent Maraval as Castel
- Deborah Revy as Paula
- Stella Rocha as Mama
- Xamira Zuloaga as Lucile
- Benoît Debie as Yuyo
- Omaima S. as Victoire
Production
Love is the screen debut of the film's two main actresses, Muyock and Kristin.[7] Noé met them in a club. He found Karl Glusman for the role of Murphy through a mutual friend.[8] The budget of the film was approximately €2.6 million.[1] Principal photography took place in Paris.[6] Noé has said that the film's screenplay was seven pages long.[9]
In a pre-release interview with Marfa Journal, Noé implied that the film would have an explicitly sexual feel. He asserted that it would "give guys a hard-on and make girls cry".[10]
The film is notable for its unsimulated sex scenes.[9][11][12] According to NPR, "roughly half of Gaspar Noe's Love consists of raw, unsimulated sex acts – presented in 3D, no less".[13] In most cases, the sex scenes were also not choreographed.[14]
Release
The week before its debut at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival, the film's U.S. distribution rights were acquired by Alchemy.[15][16] It was selected to be screened in the Vanguard section of the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival.[17] The film also screened in The International Film Festival of Kerala, held in Thiruvananthapuram.[18]
The film was refused a license to be screened in Russia.[19]
Reception
The film received mixed reviews, with a negative score of 39% on Rotten Tomatoes and an average rating of 5.01/10, sampled from 90 reviews. The website's consensus states: "Love sees writer-director Gaspar Noé delivering some of his warmest and most personal work; unfortunately, it's also among his most undeveloped and least compelling."[20] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 51 out of 100 based on reviews from 27 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[21]
References
- Lemercier, Fabien (27 April 2015). "Enfant terrible Gaspar Noé is back with Love". Cineuropa. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
- "Love [2D] (18)". British Board of Film Classification. 10 September 2015. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
- "Gaspar Noé's LOVE: first official cast & crew list". Le temps detruit tout. 9 May 2015. Archived from the original on 10 May 2015. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
- "Love (2015) - International Box Office Results". Box Office Mojo. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
- Neuman, Jules (6 November 2015). "Review: Noe's "Love" Has Sex, 3D, and Little Else". The Movie Blog. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
Love, Gaspar Noe’s sexy sex filled art house adventure
- Pete Hammond (21 May 2015). "Gaspar Noe's 3D Porn Movie 'Love' Lands In Cannes: "This Could Never Have Been Made In America"". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
- Webb, Beth (20 May 2015). "Revealed: the 3D sex odyssey set to scandalise Cannes". Retrieved 29 May 2015.
- Keijser, Marjolein. ""Love" Press Conference, Movie Review (Cannes)". GrungeCake. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
- "Cannes: Is Love the Most Sexually Explicit Film of the Year?". Vulture.
- Jagernauth, Kevin. "Gaspar Noe's 3D 'Love' And More Added To Cannes Film Festival Lineup". The Playlist. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
- "Director Gaspar Noé explains why real sex scenes were filmed for Love movie". www.irishexaminer.com. 9 December 2015.
- Seymour, Tom (21 November 2015). "Gaspar Noé's Love: 'We're not doing anything perverse'" – via www.theguardian.com.
- "Graphic Doesn't Mean Interesting, Particularly In 'Love'". NPR.org.
- Smith, Nigel. "Cannes: Gaspar Noé on Shooting Sex in 'Love' and Why He Loves His Bad Reviews". Indiewire. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
- "Complement to the Official Selection". Cannes Film Festival. 23 April 2015. Archived from the original on 5 May 2015. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
- Smith, Nigel M (17 May 2015). "Cannes: Gaspar Noe's 3D Sex Odyssey 'LOVE' Goes to Alchemy". Indiewire. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
- "Toronto Film Festival Adds 60+ Titles". IndieWire. Archived from the original on 11 August 2015. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
- "Love". Manoramaonline.com.
- Tokmasheva, Maria (30 January 2018). "Final cut: Movies that have been banned in Russia". www.rbth.com. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
- "Love (2015)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
- "Love". Metacritic. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
External links
- Love on IMDb
- Love at Box Office Mojo
- Love at Rotten Tomatoes
- Love at Metacritic