Review of Love Is Strange (2014) by Timothy A — 31 Mar 2015

Drama is about cause and effect relationships. It takes balls to leave out the first part and, occasionally, it takes brains, especially when you get results like this. An intelligent and sophisticated drama notable primarily for the way any event that could lead to overacting and histrionics takes place off screen, and all the more effective for it.

For one of the first films to tackle the subject of gay marriage in the US the issues are underplayed, but this is because it provides questions rather than answers. Would the characters be treated the same if they were straight? Would they accept the same treatment? Ultimately though, gender is largely irrelevant, and in contrast to generations of Hollywood melodramas, it's about the way marriage makes us fragile and vulnerable at the same time it may leave us fulfilled.

And it does a damn good job of exploring the balance.