''I'm Losing You'' is a 1998 American

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. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

Bruce Wagner Bruce Alan Wagner (born March 22, 1954) is an American novelist and screenwriter based in Los Angeles known for his apocalyptic yet ultimately spiritual view of humanity as seen through the lens of the Hollywood entertainment industry. Early lif ...

and adapted from his 1996 novel of the same name. The film stars

Rosanna Arquette Rosanna Lisa Arquette (; born August 10, 1959) is an American actress. She was nominated for an Emmy Award for her performance in the TV film '' The Executioner's Song'' (1982) and won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for th ...

Frank Langella Frank A. Langella Jr. (; born January 1, 1938) is an American actor. He eschewed the career of a traditional film star by making the stage the focal point of his career, appearing frequently on Broadway. He has received four Tony Awards (out of ...

Andrew McCarthy Andrew Thomas McCarthy (born November 29, 1962) is an American actor, travel writer, and television director. He is most known as a member of the Brat Pack, with roles in 1980s films such as '' St. Elmo's Fire'', ''Pretty in Pink'', ''Mannequi ...

, and

Elizabeth Perkins Elizabeth Perkins (born November 18, 1960) is an American actress. She is known for her roles in films including '' About Last Night'' (1986), '' From the Hip'' (1987), ''Big'' (1988), '' Enid Is Sleeping'' (1990), ''The Flintstones'' (1994), '' ...

. ''I'm Losing You'' film premiered at the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the most prestigious and largest publicly attended film festivals in the world. Founded in 1976, the festival takes place every year in early September. The organi ...

on September 17, 1998 and received a limited theatrical release in the United States on July 16, 1999. The title of the film refers not only to the loss of life and love, but to a phrase used by most Angelenos while talking on

cellular phones A mobile phone or cell phone is a portable telephone that allows users to make and receive calls over a radio frequency link while moving within a designated telephone service area, unlike fixed-location phones ( landline phones). This radio ...

Plot

The film centers on the wealthy, dysfunctional Krohn family of

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. On the verge of his 60th birthday, patriarch and TV producer Perry Krohn is diagnosed with inoperable cancer and is told he has only months left to live. He delays telling his thirtysomething children, has-been actor Bertie and adopted daughter Rachel. Bertie, who is promoting a scheme to

short-sell In finance, being short in an asset means investing in such a way that the investor will profit if the market value of the asset falls. This is the opposite of the more common long position, where the investor will profit if the market val ...

life insurance policies to

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

patients, is a devoted single parent to his daughter Tiffany, but constantly worries about the erratic behavior of Lidia, his drug-addicted ex-wife. Rachel, who works at an auction house, becomes drawn into

Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...

as a means of coping with a spirituality crisis. She also makes an alarming discovery about her biological parents. At a party, Bertie meets

HIV-positive The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of '' Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the im ...

activist Aubrey, with whom he becomes entangled in a reckless sexual relationship. Perry also embarks on an affair, one he believes to be his last, with Mona Deware, an English actress appearing in his wildly successful ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the Star Trek: The Original Series, series of the same name and became a worldwide Popular culture, pop-culture Cultural influence of ...

''–like series, "Blue Matrix."

Cast

Reception

Review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, 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 ...

gives the film a 40% approval rating based on five reviews, with an average rating of 4.85/10. Critics noted the film's "certain visual elegance and tonal control", but said its grim subject matter would only be appealing to a specialized audience.

Janet Maslin Janet R. Maslin (born August 12, 1949) is an American journalist, who served as a film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1977 to 1999, serving as chief critic for the last six years, and then a literary critic from 2000 to 2015. In 2000, M ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' noted that the film pares down much of the material from the novel and said it doesn't "quite hang together", but "it does capture the black humor and mournful angst at the heart of the material". She concluded, "Wagner successfully echoes his book's bleak resonance, but his straightforward ability with a camera is no match for what he can do on the page. He does give the film a cool, calculated look that preserves its discreet mournfulness and saves it from emotional overkill."

Nathan Rabin Nathan Rabin () is an American film and music critic. Rabin was the first head writer for ''The A.V. Club'', a position he held until he left the ''Onion'' organization in 2013.

of ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an 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 created in ...

'' wrote, "Joyless, morbid, and frequently over-written (at one point Arquette informs an acquaintance that she 'was into Coleridge and the Cabala before either were trendy'), ''I'm Losing You'' seems intent on rubbing its viewers' faces in the pain and degradation of contemporary life. Equal parts bleak

soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...

, pitch-black comedy, and morose meditation on the nature of death, ''I'm Losing You'' is as compelling as it is repugnant and sorrowful." Producer Pamela Koffler was awarded with the Producers Award at the

15th Independent Spirit Awards The 15th Independent Spirit Awards, honoring the best in independent filmmaking for 1999 in film, 1999, were announced on March 25, 2000. It was hosted by Jennifer Tilly. Nominees and winners Special awards Truer Than Fiction Award ''Nig ...

for her work on the film.

References

External links

* *{{Rotten Tomatoes, im_losing_you 1990s American films 1990s English-language films 1998 directorial debut films 1998 drama films 1998 films 1998 independent films American drama films English-language independent films Films about actors Films about adultery in the United States Films about cancer in the United States Films about death Films about dysfunctional families Films about Hollywood, Los Angeles Films based on American novels Films directed by Bruce Wagner Films produced by Christine Vachon Films set in Los Angeles Films with screenplays by Bruce Wagner HIV/AIDS in American films Killer Films films Lionsgate films