She is Love: LFF Film Review
My final in-person film of this year’s London Film Festival was Jamie Adams‘ drama She is Love, starring Haley Bennett and Sam Riley.
American TV producer Patricia (Bennett) goes to a boutique hotel in Cornwall for a short stay but her restful, relaxing break is soon interrupted by the sounds of a DJ at his mixing desk. But not just any DJ – it’s her ex-husband Idris (Riley), who she hasn’t seen for more than a decade. It turns out he runs the hotel with his partner Louise (Marisa Abela). The next few days are going to be quite awkward!
I loved the concept of She is Love and it is ripe with potential for both comedy and drama so I couldn’t wait to dig into it and unpack the history they share. It is quite amusing and funny at first (what a nightmare situation to be in!) as the trio tries to navigate the uncomfortable, unexpected situation. Although Patricia tries to make herself scarce initially, she’s inevitably drawn to Idris and can’t help but reopen old wounds and rehash the past.
Adams likes to let his actors improvise the dialogue. He has a “scriptment” for what each scene should achieve and lets them run with it during really long takes. This approach is excellent for getting realistic conversations but they also feel insubstantial and at times repetitive. I expected to learn so much more about these characters and their marriage than I did. There is one big, shocking revelation, and it’s a good one, but it didn’t feel like enough. This is a shame because it had the ingredients for more exciting, meaty conversations.
I wasn’t sure how we were supposed to feel about Patricia and Idris. Do we want them to get back together? It seemed like Adams was leading us that way, but I thought they’d be better off without each other and happier with their new significant others.
Riley and Bennett are very impressive improvising these characters and acting the whole movie in six days. It’s a big challenge and they exceeded it; bringing us tortured, sad characters bound together by shared trauma. I just wanted to know more about their characters, especially Patricia. Why was she there in the first place? Why is she so depressed? Despite their interesting lead performances, I warmed the most to Abela as the uncomfortable third-wheel Louise.
She is Love didn’t deliver on its promising setup, despite the top performances all around – it just needed more meat on its bones.
In cinemas and on digital platforms from Friday 3rd February