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Love Is Strange
By S. Jhoanna Robledo,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Heartfelt drama about love, real estate has some swearing.
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Love Is Strange
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What's the Story?
Longstanding New York City couple Ben (John Lithgow), an artist, and George (Alfred Molina), a music teacher, finally make it official and get married. It's a lovely life they've knit together over the years, with plenty of friends and relatives who celebrate them. But soon after the ceremony, George is fired from the job he loves at a Catholic school, despite the fact that almost everyone already knew he was gay and has been with Ben for decades. Worried about how they'll make ends meet, Ben and George decide to sell their biggest asset: the downtown apartment they live in and love. Little do they know that a loophole in the terms means they won't net as much as they'd expected and that finding affordable housing in an increasingly wealthy city is nearly as daunting as scaling Everest.
Is It Any Good?
LOVE IS STRANGE is a poignant, heartfelt, beautifully told story that allows its moments to unwind with quiet certitude. Rather than rely on bombast and operatic tragedy, its melancholy builds as it does in real life: little by little, adding up to a forceful punch in the gut. Many filmmakers don't easily capture the cumulative connectedness and commitment of long-term relationships, but director Ira Sachs does so here, eloquently.
Many of the kudos belong to Lithgow and Molina, who fluently express the steady yet complicated rhythms of a decades-old coupledom. When the two are forced to live apart, bunking with well-meaning friends and family who don't have the space to host them both, their separation feels so wretched -- your heart breaks for them. But you feel for those who help as well, especially Marisa Tomei in a perfectly calibrated turn as the writer wife of Ben's nephew, who cares for Ben but finds her routines upended to distraction.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how Love Is Strange portrays prejudice and discrimination. What obstacles do Ben and George face? Why? What are audiences meant to take away from watching how they deal with these challenges?
Extended family members play a major role in this film. Do you think their characters -- and their reactions -- are believable/realistic?
What's the movie's take on the lack of affordable housing in New York City? How does it reveal these ideas, and what impact does that situation have?
Movie Details
- In theaters: August 22, 2014
- On DVD or streaming: January 13, 2015
- Cast: Alfred Molina , John Lithgow , Marisa Tomei
- Director: Ira Sachs
- Inclusion Information: Female actors
- Studio: Sony Pictures Classics
- Genre: Drama
- Topics: Friendship
- Run time: 94 minutes
- MPAA rating: R
- MPAA explanation: language
- Last updated: October 8, 2022
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