Storyline
Neglected by her husband, Sarah embarks on an impromptu road trip with her young daughter and her best friend Mindy. Along the way, the dynamic between the two friends intensifies before circumstances force them apart. Years later, Sarah attempts to rebuild their intimate connection in the days before Mindy's wedding.
Writers: Bradley Rust Gray, So Yong Kim, Riley Keough, Jena Malone, Jessie Ok Gray, Riley Keough, Jessie Ok Gray, Cary Joji Fukunaga, Jena Malone, Juliet Fitzpatrick, Neal Huff, Sky Ok Gray, Ryan Eggold, Marshall Chapman, Brooklyn Decker, Amy Seimetz, William Tyler, Luke Schneider, Sasha Dobson, Jamin Orrall, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Cast: Riley Keough -
Sarah
Jessie Ok Gray -
Jessie (Age 3)
(as Jessie ok Gray)
Cary Joji Fukunaga -
Dean
Jena Malone -
Mindy
Juliet Fitzpatrick -
Jessie's Friend
Neal Huff -
Cowboy Neal
Sky Ok Gray -
Jessie (Age 6)
(as Sky ok Gray)
Ryan Eggold -
Leif
Marshall Chapman -
Jessica
Brooklyn Decker -
Lily
Amy Seimetz -
Chloe
William Tyler -
William
Luke Schneider -
Steel Player
Sasha Dobson -
Bass Player
Jamin Orrall -
Drummer
Trivia:
Jena Malone and Riley Keough's second collaboration with So Yong Kim as director. Malone previously appeared in For Ellen (2012). Keough previously appeared in Spark and Light (Short 2014). See more »
User Review
Author:
Rating: 6/10
Lovesong (2016) was co-written and directed by the Korean-American
filmmaker So Yong Kim. It stars Riley Keough as Sarah, a young married
woman who might as well be a single mom. (Her husband is away for
months on business.) Sarah lives in a beautiful home, in a beautiful
setting. She has a great daughter, Jessie, played at age three by
Jessie OK Gray, and at age six by Sky OK Gray. (I assume they are the
director's two daughters.)
Enter Sarah's old friend Mindy (Jena Malone) who lives in New York
City. They haven't seen each other for years, but they're still good
friends. We get a sense that they're more than good friends, but
director Kim is discrete about these things. After spending the night
together, Mindy leaves for NYC. The women don't meet up again until
three years later.
There was a good movie in here somewhere, but it never made its way
out. Both women are moody, taciturn, and passive. As an example, it
apparently never occurs to Sarah that she could do more with her life
than be a mother to Jessie, and wait for her husband to return home.
How about leaving Jessie with a sitter and volunteering for a political
cause or for a library? Nope. She just sits home, takes walks, and
sulks.
Mindy doesn't appear to have any thoughts at all. She makes an offhand
comment about work, but she never says what she does and how she does
it. She certainly has a gamine-like charm, but we don't see anything
else to recommend her as a friend or as a person.
This is the movie to see if you want a story about two attractive women
who don't really connect with each other or with the world. Otherwise,
find a better movie and watch that one.
We saw this film at the excellent Little Theatre, as part of the
wonderful ImageOut Rochester LGBT Film Festival. It will work well on
the small screen.
Lovesong is one of 22 films that had their New York State premiere, or
their East Coast premiere, at ImageOut. My compliments to the ImageOut
Programming Committee for their great success in bringing these films
to Rochester.
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