Book of Love (2004)

Director:

Alan Brown

Writer:

Alan Brown (written by)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

When good people do bad things.

Plot:

Living among fusty academics, an unusual young man gets between a high school history teacher and his wife.

Plot Keywords:

Infidelity | Older Woman Younger Man Relationship | High School Athlete | Cambodia | Forgiveness

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Frances O'Connor	...	Elaine Walker
Simon Baker	...	David Walker
Gregory Smith	...	Chet Becker
Bryce Dallas Howard	...	Heather
Joanna Adler	...	Melissa (as Joanna P. Adler)
Sabrina Grdevich	...	Lilian
Ari Graynor	...	Naomi
Beth MacDonald	...	Yoga Instructor
Brett Tabor	...	Coach
Van Hughes	...	Swimmer #1
C.J. Aker	...	Swimmer #2

Also Known As:

Nights in Phnom Penh (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for sexual content and language.

Runtime:

USA:83 min (Sundance Film Festival)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Australia:M | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Lake Buena Vista, Florida, USA

Company:

Robert Ahrens Productions

Quotes:

Elaine Walker: [singing for David] The book of love is long and boring, no one can lift the damn thing. It's full of charts and facts and figures and instructions for dancing. But I love it when you read to me, and you can read me anything. The book of love is long and boring, and written very long ago. It's full of flowers and heart-shaped boxes and things we're all too young to know. But I love it when you give me things, and you ought to give me wedding rings.

Another poor concept indie film

This is another poor concept indie film with songs that distract tossed in. Songs with untalented voices. The film's style gets in its own way. Each scene is way too long. This is the result of a cheap and in-experienced director who is afraid to do editing. Almost every scene needs 1/3 to 1/2 of it cut out. This is not a genre, this is simply bad film-making. Total over use of songs, that makes you reach for the fast-forward button. The story comes across like a half-baked 5 minute short film, with no real ending to it. Instead of focusing on the story line first and make it great, it was simply made longer and the result is very boring. When John Cleese talks about writing the great 1/2 hour Fawlty Towers, he and co-writer Connie Booth spent six week writing each show. They spent 2-3 weeks on just one the plot. This film is totally absent of this kind of attention to deal, hoping that the audience will somehow be confused with the dragged out scenes thinking it is some sort of genre. You find yourself asking yourself what this story is to be about or if there even is a story. The characters, even the husband and wife barely bond together. The two women, they don't come across as a couple really either. When you take a bad story, bad music, bad direction, bad editing and the wrong casting, you end up with a film like this.