''Love Is Strange'' is a 2014 American
romantic drama film
In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...
directed by
Ira Sachs
Ira Sachs (born November 21, 1965) is an American filmmaker. His first film was the short ''Lady'' (1993).
Biography
Sachs was born in Memphis, Tennessee. His films include '' The Delta'' (1997), '' Forty Shades of Blue'' (2005), '' Married Li ...
. The film had its premiere in the non-Competition programme of the
2014 Sundance Film Festival
The 2014 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 16, 2014 until January 26, 2014 in Park City, Utah, United States, with screenings in Salt Lake City, Ogden, and Sundance Resort in Utah. The festival opened with ''Whiplash'' directed by Da ...
. The film was also screened in the Panorama section of the
64th Berlin International Film Festival
The 64th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 6 to 16 February 2014. Wes Anderson's film ''The Grand Budapest Hotel'' opened the festival. British film director Ken Loach was presented with the Honorary Golden Bear. The Golden ...
.
Plot
Ben and George, a same-sex couple from Manhattan, get married after 39 years together. George is a Catholic school music teacher, and when word of the marriage reaches the archdiocese, he is fired. Without his salary, the couple can no longer afford their New York apartment and are forced to ask their friends and family for shelter, resulting in their separation. Ben stays in Brooklyn with his nephew Elliot, Elliot's novelist wife Kate, and their teenage son Joey, while George bunks with their (now former) neighbors, a younger same-sex couple of two party-loving NYPD cops, Roberto and Ted.
Still partnered but missing each other, Ben and George find ways to spend time together, as all parties involved deal with the happenstance of an additional person living in a space designed for fewer people. Elliot, Kate, Joey, Roberto and Ted decide how much they want to involve themselves in the lives of Ben and George, and vice versa.
Cast
*
John Lithgow
John Arthur Lithgow ( ; born , 1945) is an American actor. Lithgow studied at Harvard University and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art before becoming known for his work on the stage and screen. He has been the recipient of numerous ...
as Ben Hull
*
Alfred Molina
Alfred Molina (born Alfredo Molina; 24 May 1953) is a British-American actor known for his work on the stage and screen. He first rose to prominence in the West End, earning a nomination for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Newcomer in a Pla ...
as George Garea
*
Marisa Tomei
Marisa Tomei ( , ; born December 4, 1964) is an American actress. She came to prominence as a cast member on ''The Cosby Show'' spin-off ''A Different World'' in 1987. After having minor roles in a few films, she came to international attention ...
as Kate Hull
*
Charlie Tahan
Charles Tahan (born June 11, 1998) is an American actor. His notable roles include Wyatt Langmore in the Netflix original crime drama ''Ozark'' (2017–2022), the voice of Victor Frankenstein in the Disney 3D stop-motion-animated fantasy horror ...
as Joey Hull
*
Cheyenne Jackson
Cheyenne David Jackson (born July 12, 1975) is an American actor and singer. His credits include leading roles in Broadway musicals and other stage roles, as well as film and television roles, concert singing, and music recordings.
After beginni ...
as Ted
*
Harriet Sansom Harris
Harriet Sansom Harris (born January 8, 1955) is an American actress known for her theater performances and for her portrayals of Bebe Glazer on ''Frasier'' and Felicia Tilman on ''Desperate Housewives''.
Harris won a Tony Award in 2002 as a Fe ...
as Honey
*
Darren Burrows as Elliot Hull
*
Christian Coulson
Christian Peter Coulson (born 3 October 1978) is an English actor known for playing young Tom Marvolo Riddle in the 2002 fantasy film ''Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets''.
Early life
Coulson was born in Manchester. He attended Arnold Ho ...
as Ian
*
John Cullum
John Cullum (born circa 1930) is an American actor and singer. He has appeared in many stage musicals and dramas, including '' Shenandoah'' (1975) and ''On the Twentieth Century'' (1978), winning the Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Mus ...
as Father Raymond
*
Adriane Lenox
Adriane Lenox is an American actress, best known for her performances in Broadway theatre. Her performance in the play ''Doubt: A Parable'' garnered her the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play in 2005. She received another Tony Award ...
as Principal
*
Manny Pérez
Manuel Pérez "Manny" Batista (born May 5, 1969) is a Dominican American actor who has appeared in the television series ''Third Watch'' and in the film '' Washington Heights''. He is the cousin of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Junot Diaz.
L ...
as Roberto
* Sebastian La Cause as Marco
*
Christina Kirk
Christina Kirk (born November 10, 1970) in New York, New York, is an American actress.
Career
Kirk appeared in Woody Allen's ''Melinda and Melinda'' and Ira Sachs' ''Love Is Strange''. She also was in ''Clybourne Park'', a play by Bruce Nor ...
as Mindy
Reception
Critical response
''Love Is Strange'' received universal critical acclaim. The film has a "Certified Fresh" score of 93% on
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, based on 176 reviews, with an average rating of 7.73/10. The critical consensus states: "Held aloft by remarkable performances from John Lithgow and Alfred Molina, ''Love Is Strange'' serves as a graceful tribute to the beauty of commitment in the face of adversity." The film also has a score of 82 out of 100 on
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, based on 42 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".
Keith Uhlich of ''
The A.V. Club
''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...
'' named ''Love Is Strange'' the best film of 2014.
Accolades
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Love Is Strange
2014 films
2014 romantic drama films
2014 LGBT-related films
2014 independent films
2010s English-language films
American romantic drama films
American LGBT-related films
English-language French films
French romantic drama films
French LGBT-related films
2010s Russian-language films
Films directed by Ira Sachs
Films set in New York City
Films shot in New York City
LGBT-related romantic drama films
Gay-related films
Sony Pictures Classics films
2010s American films
2010s French films