Loveless Film Difficulty Ranking: 3
If you’ve seen Zvyagintsev’s Leviathan you need to see Loveless. If you haven’t seen Leviathan, what are you waiting for? Loveless is another dark drama from Zvyagintsev of epic proportions. It’s comparable to one of Shakespeare’s dark plays updated for the digital age. Plus, it’s not just a reflection of Russian society, but a reflection of all our lives.
Why Watch Loveless?
- You can’t find better drama than this
- It’s a story you usually don’t see on screen – what happens after the happy marriage – and yes, it’s dark
- It’s the follow up to Zvyagintsev’s award winning Leviathan and it’s already won the Cannes Jury prize, you don’t have to rely on our opinion!
- The setting! The snow and empty spaces make it even more chilling!
The Breakdown
Loveless starts with snow. It makes the town it falls on seem more serene; the calm before the storm. It’s the end of school for the day and the camera follows 12 year old Alexey as he walks home on his own. He finds a strip of police ‘do not cross’ tape and waves drags it along with him through the snow before throwing it into a leafless tree. Unlike his parents, he’s just a regular kid.
The opening 5 minutes of the film are focused on Alexey, but then the film is hi-jacked by his parents. When Alexey returns home, we find his parents arguing (they’re getting divorced). From their argument, we follow them through a day of each of their lives at work and their affairs for the next 30 minutes of the film. Alexey’s parents are doubly selfish. They steal the film’s narrative from him and also indulge in their own self-interests whilst they have the limelight. They force Alexey out of the film.
You may also notice the abundance of empty spaces and silence in the movie. The director may linger on a shot after the character has left or remain fixed on a character for slightly longer than normal. Zvyagintsev left these visual and audible pauses for us to give us time to think. This allows us to become ‘co-authors’ as we have time to add in our own interpretations. You’ll see that whilst Loveless is a Russian film, the message is relevant to all of us – making it possible to interpret.
Conclusion
Loveless was one of the stand out films for me at the London Film Festival 2017. Just like Leviathan (which you should watch if you haven’t already) it’s storytelling is at the top level. On top of that, the visuals are a perfect compliment – they make the dark bits of the story darker, and offer us breaks to become co-authors.
Watch it when you can!
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