Stellead Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

Allison Davies The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Scarlet The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Dana An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

gjacoby-13495 I haven't seen any of So Young Kim's other movies, but I am going to make an effort. I understand the varied responses of others here, and make no excuses; it is different for me, and this love story really is a Lovesong, one played in the background over several years, which rises from piano to sforzando, and back to quietness. Remarkably acted and directed, Riley Keough and Jena Malone are just perfect in the depiction of their barely suppressed love for one another. The film both delighted and depressed me, but it has become one that I will buy to keep. I do agree with a review of Lovesong by Justin Chang in "Variety" on 25 Jan 2016: "There's a remarkable truthfulness to the film's acknowledgment that people often make enormous decisions rooted not in fear so much as uncertainty, even laziness, as well as a comfort with their lives as they've lived them until the present juncture." What is left unsaid is the consequences of those decisions, that we are left to look out the window and consider. Well done.

anthonyjlangford Two vapid and thin leads with barely a shred of an adult conversation between them. Natural visual and editorial style aside, over the few years this story takes place, there's nothing here that teenage friends wouldn't exchange in half a lunchtime. Young teens at that.The lead character whines about having to look after her own child while being in the privileged position of not having to work. Sarah could take up study or indeed get a job and put her shockingly fed daughter into daycare, where hopefully the child receives some decent parenting. And one wholesome meal. Rather than take any sort of ownership over her life, Sarah bleats and cries. Victim-hood mentality. Woe is me. The actors do a competent job. Rosanna Arquette shamefully wasted here too. It's really the fault of the director, writers and producers.Superficial, whiny, self-involved, navel gazing, entitled, immature characters, without any redeeming qualities other than they look good. Perhaps we should be thankful they didn't talk more as they had nothing worthwhile to say anyway. Too long, even at eighty minutes. Tedious.

ReganRebecca Lovesong is an intimate relationship drama, lovingly told, the kind of indie that hangs not on the script or dialogue, but on the beauty of the images and the mostly silent performances of its leads. And while the story is intriguing and the actors good, it never really rises up to become something memorable. Lovesong is, true to its title, a bittersweet love story about two best friends, Sarah and Mindy. Sarah married young and now finds herself isolated as a single mother who only has a toddler to talk to, her husband travelling around the world. She calls her friend Mindy who immediately, like a breath of fresh air, arrives to reassure her, tell her that she's a good mom and to urge her to have fun. The two friends along with Sarah's daughter go an impromptu road trip. But while discussing their past some tension comes up and the two end up pushing their relationship into a more romantic capacity. Things go a bit awry and the movie picks up three years later just as Sarah's relationship is dissolving and Mindy is about to get married. Writer/director So Yong Kim keeps things simple and naturalistic for her leading ladies (no makeup and a distinct lack of over the top reactions). The two main actresses Jena Malone and Riley Keough both work with her very well. But while the two have a soft chemistry that suits the style of the movie it isn't the kind of burning passion that would have made this film really stand out. And everything feels too subtle, too subdued. I liked this movie well enough while I was watching, but I also have the distinct feeling that it won't exactly stick in my mind. Still worth watching.

Red-125 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.