Love and Death on Long Island (1997)

Director:

Richard Kwietniowski

Writers:

Gilbert Adair (novel)
Richard Kwietniowski (writer)

Release Date:

6 March 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Giles De'Ath is a widower who doesn't like anything modern. He goes to movies and falls in love with film star...

Plot Keywords:

Actor | Obsession | Film Within A Film | Supermarket | Actress

Awards:

4 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

John Hurt	...	Giles De'Ath
Jason Priestley	...	Ronnie Bostock
Fiona Loewi	...	Audrey
Sheila Hancock	...	Mrs. Barker
Harvey Atkin	...	Lou
Gawn Grainger	...	Henry
Elizabeth Quinn	...	Mrs. Reed
Maury Chaykin	...	Irving 'Irv' Buckmuller
Linda Busby	...	Mrs. Abbott
Bill Leadbitter	...	Eldridge
Anne Reid	...	Maureen (as Ann Reid)
Danny Webb	...	Video Assistant (as Daniel Webb)
Andrew Barrow	...	Harry
Dean Gariss	...	Rob
Robert McKewley	...	Video Salesman

Also Known As:

Amour et mort à Long Island (Canada: French title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for brief strong language, thematic elements and some sexual content.

Runtime:

93 min | Germany:90 min | UK:103 min | USA:94 min | Argentina:94 min

Country:

UK | Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Netherlands:AL | Australia:M | France:U | Germany:12 | UK:15 | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Bedford, Nova Scotia, Canada

Company:

Arts Council of England

Goofs:

Factual errors: When the mailman delivers mail to Ronnie Bostock's mailbox,he raises the mailbox flag, presumably to signal to the resident that mail has been delivered. (Ronnie's girlfriend, seeing the mailbox flag has been raised, seems to interpret the signal accordingly.) Although it may be the convention for mail delivery wherever the director/writer is from, it is not the case on Long Island, where it is the custom for the resident to raise the mailbox flag to alert the mailman that mail is in the mailbox waiting to be picked up. Once the mail has been picked up, the mailman lowers the flag - the opposite of what occurred in the film.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Giles De'Ath: It is so difficult to know where I should begin, especially when, unlike you, I already know the ending. But let us say that this story began with end of another.

Movie Connections:

References Cliffhanger (1993)

Simple film that works

Love and Death On Long Island follows Giles (John Hurt) a semi recluse English novelist who wonders through his life with very little intense purpose, challenges or any sense of being 'alive'. That all changes when one day when he gets locked out of his house. Eventually he ends up wandering to the local cinema and mistakenly walks into Hotpants College II. "What rubbish". He's just about to leave when Ronnie Bostock (Jason Priestly) appears on screen. He's mesmerized.

When he leaves the theater he's a different man. It's not long before Giles thinks and does nothing that doesn't revolve around Ronnie Bostock. He buys teeny bopper magazines featuring anything involving Ronnie. Makes a Ronnie Bostock scrapbook from hand including the pictures from the magazines and eventually he makes sure to view all of Ronnie's other movie exploits. He's a man consumed by one thought, one action. Obsession has taken over. Things get deeper as you can imagine when Giles sets out and actually meets Ronnie and befriends him.

John Hurt turns in another great performance in a long list of great performances and it's nice to see Jason Priestly doing something of worth. The supporting players are apt too. Sheila Hancock as Giles housekeeper kept reminding me of the God and Monsters Lynn Redgrave as James Whale's housekeeper. Fiona Loewi as Ronnie's girlfriend is a mite refreshing. She's not stupid or naive. We can see at one point she's figured out what is going on and what the "real" story is.

I guess it's a nice plus that some of the movie was shot in my home too -- Nova Scotia, Canada. I think it's always nice to see where you live in a movie. 'Hey, I know that place! That's Lawrencetown beach!' Now I suppose if you live in Los Angeles, New York or any big American city that supports motion picture filming that seeing your city/town isn't such a big deal. In any case Love and Death on Long Island is a movie bathed in human nature. It's a good watch on a rainy day.