''Lovely, Still'' is a 2008 American

romantic drama Romance films involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion (emotion), passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their ...

film directed by

Nik Fackler Nik Fackler is an American filmmaker and musician. His 2008 romantic drama film '' Lovely, Still'' was nominated for a 2010 Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay. His second film was an experimental documentary film, ''Sick Birds Die E ...

. It stars

Martin Landau Martin James Landau (; June 20, 1928 – July 15, 2017) was an American actor. His career began in the 1950s, with early film appearances including a supporting role in Alfred Hitchcock's '' North by Northwest'' (1959). His career breakthrough c ...

Ellen Burstyn Ellen Burstyn (born Edna Rae Gillooly; December 7, 1932) is an American actress. Known for her portrayals of complex women in dramas, she is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Tony Award, and two Primetime Emmy A ...

, Adam Scott, and

Elizabeth Banks Elizabeth Irene Banks (; February 10, 1974) is an American actress, director, and producer. She is known for playing chaperone Effie Trinket in ''The Hunger Games'' film series (2012–2015) and an ICCA commentator in the ''Pitch Perfect'' ...

. Filming took place in

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

. The 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 ...

in 2008 and received a limited theatrical release two years later on September 10, 2010.

Plot

Lonely Robert Malone falls in love with Mary, the mother of his neighbor Alex. With the help of his boss Mike, Robert decides to spend Christmas with someone for the first time. Over a period of a few days and with the "co-conspiratorial help" from the grocery store manager, as a couple they enjoy several activities leading up to Christmas, including things like a carriage ride, a shopping spree, attending a musical performance together, and a party. At the party, Robert mistakenly accuses another older man of being the rotten, no good husband who had left Mary before. As the story progresses, we begin to understand that Mary knows a lot more and is much more concerned about making Robert happy day-by-day than might be otherwise expected for a senior couple, including moments of quiet intimacy. As the film draws to a close, we find out that Alex, Mike, Mary, and even the "alleged" boyfriend are all part of the story, as it is Robert's condition of

Alzheimer's Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

/ senile

dementia Dementia is a syndrome associated with many neurodegenerative diseases, characterized by a general decline in cognitive abilities that affects a person's ability to perform activities of daily living, everyday activities. This typically invo ...

taking him away from them for days at a time, leading to a very sweet ending.

Cast

as Robert Malone *

as Mary * Adam Scott as Mike *

as Alex

Reception

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 ...

, the film holds an approval rating of 73% based on 22 reviews. Landau and Burstyn received praise for their performances. Jennie Punter of ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'' wrote, "There are moments during ''Lovely, Still'' when it feels like you're trapped with Martin Landau and Ellen Burstyn in a kitschy musical Christmas snowglobe that someone keeps shaking", but "Landau and Burstyn deliver beautiful, nuanced performances, creating a real and captivating onscreen chemistry. It’s a testament to their talent that you find yourself slowly drawn into the bubble (make that snowglobe) of Robert and Mary’s budding romance, as the music swells, the snowflakes flutter down and Christmas Day draws nearer."

Remake

The film was remade in South Korea as ''

Salut d'Amour ''Salut d'Amour'' (''Liebesgruß''), Op. 12, is a musical work composed by Edward Elgar in 1888, originally written for violin and piano. History Elgar finished the piece in July 1888, when he was romantically involved with Caroline Alice Ro ...

'' (2015).

References

External links

* * {{rotten-tomatoes, lovely_still 2008 romantic drama films 2008 films 2008 independent films American Christmas films American independent films American romantic drama films American films about Alzheimer's disease Films about disability in the United States Films about old age Films produced by Lars Knudsen (producer) Films shot in Nebraska 2000s American films 2000s Christmas films BayView Entertainment films