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Loving Annabelle More at IMDbPro »

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67 reviews in total

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97 out of 110 people found the following review useful:
classic while modern, 14 April 2006

Author: mili_avital from San Jose, CA

The look of Loving Annabelle is very classic. The 35mm film looks glossy and the colors are crisp. The film LOOKS pretty. The story also has a classic 3-act structure and is very well-written. These traditional aspects are really interesting to note since the subject of the film is rather modern. The "unconventional" love story turns many notions on their heads: student-teacher sexual relations; the possible effects of a Catholic school upbringing or environment on an individual; and same-sex love, if anyone out there is still bigoted enough to take offense to that.

What I liked about the film was that it was character-driven, and not plot-driven. The emotional growth of the characters took center stage to the possibly sensational aspects. I felt carried along the storyline without any forced-ness or jumps in thought. The plot line was smooth, and had enough twists and turns to keep me from knowing what would happen next. I totally identified with the main characters and cared about them (individually) very deeply besides my interest in whether or not they would get together.

The look of the film, the quality of the story, and the TERRIFIC acting (both Annabelle and Simone are perfectly cast) give Loving Annabelle the depth and sheen of a much higher-budget film. (Though the emotional resonance of the story makes talking about budgets almost crass.) The music is also terrific. The soundtrack would be great to listen to as its own entity. This is the film that I've most enjoyed in a long time and have recommended it highly to anyone who will listen to me since I first saw it.

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98 out of 113 people found the following review useful:
Amazing time with "Annabelle" in San Jose!, 14 March 2006

Author: Signorita from United States

After hearing the "buzz" surrounding this movie, I finally got my chance to see Loving Annabelle at its premiere in San Jose this weekend (hooray for my girlfriend for scoring tickets to the sold out show!) I've never written a review before but I really dig this movie, so I will do my best! My initial reaction after watching was....they finally got it right, more specifically, writer Katherine Brooks got it right.

I've never really been a fan of "lesbian" movies because I could never get into the story lines or characters; they've all seemed a bit over the top. The only movie I could actually relate to up until now was "All Over Me" If you haven't seen it...go rent it!! Loving Annabelle is such a straightforward love story that fortunately doesn't involve lesbian circus performers or travelin' hippie painters. It's an amazing, well-written story that I can relate to being the product of Catholic schooling. The best part...the super hot sex scene! Now, now yes it was HOT but I loved it because like the movie, it to was straightforward, passionate, necessary. Thank god there weren't any crazy camera angles, I mean lesbians have sex!! so thank you Katherine Brooks for not showing just a hand run up and down a body...that would have been sooo boring and unrealistic!! I give this movie 2 thumbs way up for giving me something I can relate to, for being such a straightforward story about love, letting go, putting happiness first, etc.

Now as an added bonus, since it was the premiere I was able to nervously chat with writer/director Katherine Brooks and the 2 leads (ALL HOT by the way) and they were all so super cool so it makes the movie that much more enjoyable

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75 out of 82 people found the following review useful:
To Love or Not To Love....., 26 December 2006

Author: gmonta38 from United States

I'm a woman, straight...{not sure straight or lesbian should have any bearing} but, I found the love scene very arousing and tender! I agree that the intimacy and conflict that the two shared together building up to that moment was what help make that experience so soft and sensual. The struggle you could feel that Simone had with her feelings for Annabelle and then the decision she made to give into those feelings at that moment made my heart ache for her. Putting aside the inner struggle Simone was fighting of wanting to show her love for Annabelle along with the conflict of the student, teacher, relationship that would definitely have legal ramifications, who would want to have to face the grave consequences of making such a professional and moral choice...which struggle only added to the intensity of all the feeling that was unleashed during the consummation and sharing of their deep feelings of love and intimacy one for the other.

It all made me start to think about what it is to really love someone. Not based on gender or orientation, but genuine love for a person for who they are and what they bring out in you as an individual by having a connection with them. I know this is considered a "Lesbian" film,{if you are into labels} but, I can't help but think that there are many individuals who struggle with their connections with others in their intimate relationships, not because they may be "Straight or Lesbian", but because they do not connect on a resonating level of intimacy with the individual with whom they are wanting or trying to connect with. Such as Simone with Michael. Seems she wanted it to work, but it just wasn't there. Does it mean she is a Lesbian because she has loved another woman previously? I don't know...sometimes I'm not sure we get to choose when and who we will connect with on those deeper levels of love. The movie does not suggest that Annabelle has not had male partners before as well. In fact, it kind of leads us to believe she has. I think that this is a great movie that shows we can't always determine who it is we may be drawn toward to resonate on deeper levels of love and intimacy. The movie made me think of the opportunities I may have missed by not being open to nurturing the love I have felt for various individuals, male or female and the individual growth and possibilities that are lost because of not following those loving, tender feelings.

I think all women should see it. Maybe we are all missing some great connections with others because of our fear of being open to love just for the sake of being loving! I'm sure each one of us at some point in our life has experienced on some level the struggles that Simone and Annabelle respectfully face. Not the moral or professional dilemma, but of whether to love or not to love....that truly is the question... isn't it?

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32 out of 41 people found the following review useful:
Very good movie, 11 March 2006

Author: strendgirl from United States

This is an excellent lesbian film. The performances are really good, though the storyline could have used a bit more enhancement. I felt that it began too quickly and ended too abruptly. It seemed as though the interest between the teacher and student was just suddenly thrust upon us without enough development. Then I felt that there was not enough time developing their relationship before it ended. Still, it was a very beautiful and enjoyable movie. The cinematography is gorgeous and the soundtrack is superb. I highly recommend this film if you enjoyed "Summer of Love" or "All Over Me", as it reminded me a lot of these films.

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26 out of 32 people found the following review useful:
Loving Annabelle is a beautiful and heartfelt picture about two people in love., 14 December 2006

Author: simone05 from United States

Its hard to watch "Loving Annabelle" and not feel its emotional and heart-wrenching qualities. Diane Gaidry and Erin Kelly are extremely convincing as "Simone" and "Annabelle". Their love is pure and extremely delicate for it holds so much more than most people care to notice. Its more than a "teacher-student love affair", or a "lesbian love affair". Annabelle and Simone feel love's agonizing pull and love's agonizing defeat with so much emotion and understanding. Erin and Diane played their parts beautifully and it is evident from watching their chemistry on screen as well as off. A job well done to both of them.

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25 out of 36 people found the following review useful:
In Love with Loving Annabelle, 23 July 2006

Author: (loving_annabelle@hotmail.com)

I could use hundreds of words to praise this movie & they all would be so true but there is also another reason why Loving Annabelle is so loved. The movie is helping so many people in dealing with issues in their lives that before this movie they couldn't deal with. A great message in this movie is that you can not judge a situation unless you are in it. Also the director and cast interact with people in a way not many do and this created a Loving Annabelle community that I am so proud to be part of it. I will end with a cliché but very appropriate for this movie: If Loving Annabelle didn't exist, someone would have to invent it. (But luckily the talented Katherine Brooks provided for that)

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15 out of 20 people found the following review useful:
"Loving Annabelle" a breathe of fresh air, 14 December 2006

Author: sybille_rm from Austin, Texas, United States

After having watched so many lesbian films and being utterly disappointed with the majority of them, it was a relief to sit through "Loving Annabelle." The story touches the heart and is an incredible intro for Katherine Brooks into what I hope will be a long, fruitful career as a Writer/Director for feature films. She takes a controversial subject and handles it well without compromising reality. I am grateful for her courage not to take the easy way out. It sets a standard I hope other film makers are willing to step up to.The excellent cast and direction make this a very memorable viewing experience.

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21 out of 32 people found the following review useful:
Sensual, 5 December 2006

Author: snowgirl-10 from United States

Loving Annabelle is so intense that it is real. The on screen chemistry between Erin Kelly and Diane Giadry is undeniable. Every glance, every touch is heart felt and passionate. You can not help who you fall in love with and this movie is a great love story. Phenomenal and sensual! It is hard to believe that Erin has been on this project for over four years, and Diane a mere three days before shooting. When you put your heart and mind into a script you become that character, when you kiss or dance or touch with that character you are becoming them. Erin and Diane became their characters and the intensity became great chemistry and passion. I have watched this movie several times and each time in draws me in closer. Love is powerful and when it hits you, you have no control.

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21 out of 33 people found the following review useful:
more like "kinda liking" annabelle, 11 December 2006

Author: levingem (levingem@uga.edu) from Athens, Georgia

I'll begin this review by saying I didn't dislike this film. It was well acted, and looked very very good for an independent film. I guess I just felt like I knew everything that was going to happen before it did. At the beginning of the movie, the scenes seemed very trite and underdeveloped; after a few lines of dialogue and a couple of cuts, we're abruptly taken away to the next part of the story. Because of this rushed feeling to the movie, I never got to know the supporting characters, who had plenty of potential for further development.

The one thing I find redeeming about this film is the tension that builds between the two leads. The filmmaker does a good job of teasing the audience time and time again, to the point where I just gave up any hope of them getting together. She successfully took the film to a point where she could take one of two routes: they end up together, or they never take that chance. The choice she makes works for the tone of the film, even if the ending is a tad abrupt.

All in all, the filmmaker definitely has talent, I just wish there was less ambiguity in the narrative and more character development.

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11 out of 18 people found the following review useful:
Tolerating Annabelle was less than loving, 28 December 2006

Author: captaincruz from United States

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

I would have given this film a 3 but I figured a 1 would be more effective in bringing the average rating down. I initially rented this movie because of its high rating and I just want to contribute a low score to prevent others from renting it solely because of its high rating.

Yes, I am sure lesbians have cathartic moments where they must face the reality of their inner soul / sexual predisposition. However, I found this movie to be be incredibly predictable and terribly arduous. The director could have edited half the movie without losing any appeal. Also, I am not sure if the writer/producer/director are gay (nor does it really matter) but the tone of the movie was very biased. The incredibly sensitive poet/teacher/photographer and soon to be lover of Annabelle has a rather disappointing love scene with her boyfriend. It was a cold and rather mechanical scene filmed above the boyfriend while he is literally "pumping" the conflicted lesbian teacher with the fervor and passionate skill of a mongoose. She, without his knowledge, makes obvious expressions of tolerant disdain for his efforts (amazingly enough, my face was mimicking her expression of disappointment throughout the movie).

Of course, eventually we come to the climactic love scene between the no longer conflicted teacher and Lovely Annabelle ... BIG surprise -- The love scene between them is passionate, romantic and full of heat. A complete reversal ... Shocking how ingenious the director was.

Why did this annoy me? Well, set aside the fact the characters are lesbians. But, could they not have made the male patsy less mechanical and more skilled in bed? She could have been on top, he could have been pleasuring her, more foreplay, etc. It would have been more effective this way because it would have showed that it was not the lack of creativity and variety in bed that made her feel uneasy with her boyfriend -- But it was just the unfortunate fact that he was born a male. The homosexual community does not have the patent on great sex.

Oh, I almost forgot one of the ridiculous subplots. Annabelle is apparently the daughter of a female Senator with aspirations for the presidency and she sends her trouble-maker daughter to the Catholic school which employs the Poetry teacher. In the end, they are caught and the teacher is arrested by what look like government officials. This was RIDICULOUS and unrealistic. If this were the case, the event would have been quietly put under the rug, so to speak, and Annabelle would have been transferred by her mother, the "evil" goal oriented Senator. The end was even more distasteful and improbable than the movie.

Additionally, did anyone even feel uncomfortable with the age difference and the fact that an authority figure (a teacher) had a sexual relationship with a student? Many people seem enamored and blinded by the story of the relationship between "Simone" (she looks like she is at least 43 years old) and lovely 17yo Annabelle. Although the character was presented as an intelligent and "worldy" 17yo girl, this story could have been more effective if Annabelle was a college grad student and Simone were the young poetry professor. This will also eliminate the ridiculous sub-plot about Annabelle's Senator mother.

Oh gosh, and why does every young lost love story have to include an ex-lover that committed suicide (simone's ex lover that she still mourns for) ... Doesn't being gay and a teacher in a catholic school provide enough angst and development for the character? How much must a woman suffer to pull the audience in? Too too cliché.

So much more to say, but I think I feel relieved of the 96 minute burden I just experienced.

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