Review of Love and Death on Long Island (1998) by Ceph J — 22 Sep 2010

*** Atlantic Film Festival Special Review *** I try to make a point of seeing any film shot in Nova Scotia just because it's always a trip to see places I drive by every other day up on big screen.

How I've avoided seeing "Love and Death on Long Island" over the past thirteen years is beyond me. I actually remember the pandemonium created along the Bedford Highway when a local radio station let it slip that Jason Priestley was filming a movie at the iconic drive-in "The Chickenburger" and hundreds of crazed teenage girls showed up to block traffic.

This is a sublime little flick which also succeeded in changing my perceptions about the capabilities of two talented actors, and frankly that's quite a revelation. John Hurt plays Giles De'Ath, a distinguished British writer who has recently lost his wife of many years.

He's a bit of a luddite and despises technology and all of it's trappings. One day he gets locked out of his home on a rainy day and ventures to the cinema to see how the medium has treated an E.

M. Forster adaptation. By some twist he ends up seeing the terrible teen sex romp "Hotpants College II", staring young heart-throb Ronnie Bostock (Jason Priestley). The striking actor's appearance on-screen is a revelation to Giles and he slowly becomes obsessed with the young man.

His interest in Bostock drags him kicking and screaming into the 20'th Century as he's forced to purchase a television set and VCR and then rent videotapes representing Bostock's equally awful movie pantheon.

Eventually Giles travels to Long Island in a campaign to meet the young man, involve himself in his life and make a positive influence on his stagnant career. The film is a constant surprise. The first half is a real delight since it serves to exhibit John Hurt's incredible (and regrettably little-seen) aptitude for comedic timing.

In so many of his roles Hurt has played dour, world-weary, downtrodden types so it was really great to see him riff on the humor in this piece. The scenes with him mistaking microwaves for video players and not knowing that he needs a television in tandem with a VCR are laugh-out-loud funny.

Jason Priestley represents a stroke of no-brainer casting since the character of Ronnie Bostock may just as well have been auto-biographical. At the time "Beverly Hills 90210" only had a few seasons left in the hopper and Priestley was struggling with typecasting.

The character of Ronnie Bostock is written and played pitch-perfect: he's unhappy with his career but he's not wise enough to know how to change nor brave enough to follow through on Giles's advice.

There is a real sea-change in the film's mood later on as the two grow closer and the admissions they begin to share become semi-tragic. The supporting cast is also great. Fiona Loewi is spot-on as Ronnie's girlfriend.

She's equally naive and self-absorbed but still seems to exhibit considerable powers of intuition regarding Giles's intent. The real treasure here is an appearance by the lamentably late Canadian character actor Maury Chaykin as colorful diner owner Irving "Chez D'Irv" Buckmuller.

His loopy, stream of consciousness deliveries are so understated and organic you can't help but hang on his every word. He's a joy to watch in his few rare scenes. The other character that deserves mentioning is Nova Scotia itself, which doubles nicely for Long Island.

Several high-profile and familiar locations abound such as the aforementioned "Chickenburger", the Traveler's Motel in Bedford and Dalhousie University (substituting as "Hotpants College"!).

Director Richard Kwietniowski handles the material with a deft hand, perfectly balancing the film's tonal shifts and character arcs with a sure hand. He really has a blast directing the deliberately awful clips from Ronnie's other films like "Tex Mex" and "Skid Marks".

Some may think the ending rather non-committal but I consider it to be quite brave and logical given the context of when it was filmed. No matter what you think, both Giles and Ronnie are clearly changed after meeting each other.

You get the hint that Giles has come to a state of contentment with himself and Ronnie's funereal speech is clear an indication that he's taken his mentor's words to heart. You also have to realize just how provocative and daring the subject matter was back in the mid-Nineties.

It's because of movies such as "Love and Death on Long Island" that you wouldn't bat an eyelash at the content in the film were it released today. This is a great character study that gives two talented actors to exhibit their range and also allows Nova Scotia residents an opportunity to see some familiar locales juxtaposed like you've never seen before.

Tilt: up.