Reviewed by Jo Wood
Stars Morgan Freeman, Greg Kinnear, Radha Mitchell,
Selma Blair, Alexa Davalos, Tom Hemingway,
Billy Burke, Jane Alexander, Fred Ward
Written by Allison Burnett
Certification UK 15 | US R
Runtime 102 minutes
Directed by Robert Benton
Seen through the eyes of professor and writer Harry Stevenson (Freeman), this is the story of a small town woven together by happy accidents, desperate tragedies, and of course love... or the lack of it. Harry is convinced that it is possible to an extent to sidestep heartache, by truly seeing people and opening your eyes — seeing things clearly and honestly. He believes what is wrong at the end, was there at the beginning, and is obsessed with being observant to relationships around him.
It all begins when the wife of his friend, coffee shop owner Bradley (Kinnear), falls in love with another woman right before their very eyes. We follow klutzy Bradley's love life, through doomed relationship to Diana (Mitchell), who in turn is having an affair with a married man; and the blooming intoxicating relationship of Bradley's two young employees, Oscar (Hemingway) and beautiful newcomer Chloe (Davalos), who quickly become the most handsome couple in the world... ever. Harry and his wife watch and advise their friends, as they struggle with life and the mysteries of love — a mystery that they have surely solved long ago. But they in turn are struggling with their own demon of grief. The sex scenes are plentiful and unafraid. One scene is made terrifically more poignant as, post sex and completely naked, Diana argues ferociously with her lover, the raw emotion and vulnerability portrayed breathtakingly.
With resounding similarities to Brit flick Love, Actually, this film is based on a book of the same name by Charles Baxter. Director Robert Brenton is spot on the money when he says, "I'm not necessarily a very good director... but I'm really great at casting and trusting the actors I cast," as his magnificent troupe superbly deliver humour, upset, grief and hope, to a near-non existent soundtrack. With a small dose of expected cheese, this movie deals with the gut-wrenching realities of life and love, while managing to maintain a glimmer of hope. That said, after working out the complex knit of acquaintances, there is very little 'plot' to speak of. It is a story about day to day lives — some more interesting, and some more desperate than others.
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SECOND OPINION | Anna Krahn *** Love is so much in the air in this sentimental little film that the government may just go ahead and ban it in all public places. The thing with love stories is the line between aaah and eurgh is so fine and a Feast of Love tinkers on the balance almost slipping off at various points. There are certainly some aaah moments, but also some "get a room" moments and then you realise they are in a room (or a football pitch), frolicking around naked for all too see. There is rather a lot of nudity and yet the sweetest love story of all comes from the beautiful couple played by Morgan Freeman and Jane Alexander and they don't get naked at all — making it obvious that lots of sex scenes are not needed quite so much to get the point across.
Acting wise, Freeman and Alexander are perfect and Kinnear is as loveable as usual as the guy who just can't seem to get it right. Although obviously a bit of a doughnut, his heart is in the right place which makes it all the worse to see him getting his heart broken constantly. By the end you do want to shout at him to grow some balls. The bitch cheated on you — get mad! Lesser-known Toby Hemingway and Alexa Davolas are also very good as the "young love" couple. It's more of an all-you-can-eat buffet of love rather than a feast of love — it does the job, fills you up but can make you feel a little sick. Overall it is a nice film with parts which are certainly moving but, even as a hopeless romantic, there are a few too many sap-heavy moments and graphic "love" scenes for my liking.