Love the Hard Way (2001)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Peter Sehr

Writers:

Shuo Wang (novel)
Peter Sehr (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

27 March 2003 (Germany)

Genre:

Drama | Crime | Romance

Plot:

The story of a petty thief who meets an innocent young woman and brings her into his world of crime while she teaches him the lessons of enjoying life and being loved. |

Plot Keywords:

Beating | Neo Noir | Gun | Debt | Hotel

Awards:

4 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Adrien Brody	...	Jack Grace
Charlotte Ayanna	...	Claire Harrison
Jon Seda	...	Charlie
August Diehl	...	Jeff
Pam Grier	...	Det. Linda Fox
Liza Jessie Peterson	...	Pam
Elizabeth Regen	...	Sue
Katherine Moennig	...	Debbie
Joey Kern	...	Fitzgerald
Jonathan Hadary	...	Boris
Michael G. Chin	...	Asian Businessman #1
Ben Wang	...	Asian Businessman #2
Huan Wang	...	Asian Businessman #3
Ned Stresen-Reuter	...	Brian
Michaela Conlin	...	Cara, Jack's Lover

Also Known As:

Love the hard Way - Atemlos in New York (Germany)

MPAA:

Rated R for sexual content, language and violence.

Runtime:

104 min

Country:

Germany | USA

Language:

French | Spanish | German | English | Russian

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Germany:16 | Singapore:R(A) | USA:R | Spain:18 | Australia:MA

Filming Locations:

Bronx, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Vif Babelsberger Filmproduktion GmbH & Co. Dritte KG

Quotes:

Jack: Did you read it?
Claire: Yeah, I did.
Jack: And?
Claire: I don't blame you you know, I never did.
Jack: [swallows]
Claire: And going to the dark side of the moon wasn't the worst thing.
Jack: What was?
Claire: Going alone.

Movie Connections:

References Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985)

Soundtrack:

Wet Dripper

Virgin Myth

Pam Grier steals this film and she's only on screen for five minutes total. She's a whole lot of woman! Just kidding. I liked Love the Hard Way. Here is an attempt at a modern romantic myth, namely the American Virgin. Sure men want their love chick to be pure, to raise sons and daughters that are yours and yours alone, but Adrien Brody is a young thief in a porno world he did not make. After all, he's slept with 200 women. So in between hotel sleaze capers, he beds innocent Columbia biology genius with the big chest, Charlotte Avanna, and our Lothario gets more than he bargained for as his virgin becomes promiscuous in the cause of thievery. Naturally, our hero is stunned, angry, and confused.

Charlottes' revenge or strategy to get her man is pretty far fetched, but the director has created an atmosphere of slimy New York thieves on the make with a rap film score and big Cadillac's squealing tires amidst the riff raff, so we sort of believe the unbelievable. It's a nice try in the same vein as Tarentino's script, True Romance, but LTHW is grittier.