A Man in Love

For the life of me I have no idea what type of movie director Diane Kurys was trying to make here . It centres around the relationship between American director Steve Elliot and English actress Jane Steiner . It contains long - Too long - scenes of romantic European cities with romantic music in the background but at the same time is possibly too explicit to be a simple love story . For example Steve gets Jane to tell him an erotic lesbian fantasy " I can feel her lips on my nipples as I rub my hand between her legs ... " and there's some nudity . But the problem with MAN IN LOVE is that there's zero plot . Okay I wasn't expecting car chases or Bruce Willis crashing through windows but the story ends up going nowhere . In many ways it's like a meaningless Mills & Boon story that might strike a cord with women who have just experienced a holiday romance . No doubt French film students will think this some sort of romantic masterwork but I didn't care for it apart from the lesbian fantasy monologue

This film gained a bit of notoriety when it was first released in the UK when the BBFC asked for some of Greta Scacchi's love scene to be cut because her body was on view for too long, but more of that later. The backdrop to this film is the making of a film about Italian writer Cesare Pavese who committed suicide after his affair with American actress Constance Dowling came to an end. The writers could have invented a fictitious scenario instead of using a real person so perhaps someone had a personal interest in Pavese.

Steve Elliott (Peter Coyote) arrives in Rome to make a film about Cesare Pavese and chooses Jane Steiner (Greta Scacchi) to be the love interest. As work progresses, so Steve and Jane fall for each other, a scenario which happens all too frequently in real life. To complicate matters, Steve's family arrive in Rome and so Steve and Jane must tread carefully in their affair. The title should have been A Woman In Love. It is Jane rather than Steve who seems to be the person in love. She is the one who longs to be with him and runs to him when they meet at the airport, but it becomes obvious that Steve is never going to leave his family so this clandestine affair is set for failure. This film is more than a story about two people, it is about relationships in the family and between friends and the coming to terms with the loss of a loved one.

The film is certainly a lavish production with big names such as Jamie Lee Curtis and Claudia Cardinale, as well as location shooting in Rome and Paris. There is an intriguing scene in a theatre where a rehearsal for a play called La Veillee (The Evening) is taking place. It looks like a comedy set in a restaurant. The way the camera pans from a poster of the play to the stage suggests more than a hint of advertising.

This film is a bit of a rarity in the UK. It was released on VHS in 1988 and then disappeared with no UK DVD release so far. This review is from a French DVD. The picture ratio is 2.35:1 with English or French audio but there are no English subtitles for the occasional French and Italian dialogue. The scene which caused the BBFC to get hot under the collar occurs when Steve and Jane are in bed doing their lesbian fantasy thing. It was cut by 25 seconds. In total, the UK VHS ran for 106 minutes whilst the French DVD runs for 115 minutes. It is interesting rather than enthralling so 7 stars.

Personally, I find movies about abusive, jealous, mistrusting, vindictive married people to fall under "horror". Every generation has them: Gaslight (1944), Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf (1966), and of course Possession (1981), all horror flicks, as far as i'm concerned.

There is only one reason to see this film. If you're schooled in Hollywood political history, you'll like the casting of blacklisted director John Berry, as the father of the love-target of the actor playing an Italian communist writer. Nice touch.

OK, make it two. Self-reflexive Hollywood. I found the theme and look to recall Two Weeks in Another Town, Vincente Minelli's 1962 self-reflexive Hollywood followup to his Bad and the Beautiful (1952). My jaw dropped to the ground when I heard the line "bad and beautiful" uttered by Coyote, in response to his giving Affair Girl the new dress. I guess I must really know my classic movies...don't be surprised, either, to find that the entire movie is actually a script by one of the actors in the movie within a movie. Sigh.

Alright, three. This is one of those movies that screams for a widescreen presentation. So if you like getting dizzy, watching between pan-and-scan and subtitles, this is your flick.

Otherwise, be prepared for two hours of angry, embittered, unsympathetic married people thriving on crisis, having affairs, and snapping indignantly at each other. There were a few joke's-on-the-viewer moments, where it's at first unclear whether the affair is "real" or "on-screen". Unfortunately, it's revealed that it's all too "real". Like the unadvised inclusion of that tedious, cardboard "lesbian fantasy", of course as dictated by the impatient voyeur male lover, during some sex scene. Groan.

Blah to all of the above, except John Berry. 2/10.

I saw this film a number of years ago on LaserDisc, and I loved it. Excuse me if I don't remember all the details.

Peter Coyote and Greta Scacchi gave great performances. Coyote played an actor and really conveyed a sense of someone trying to convey the essence of the character he played. Scacchi was also great. Their hunger for each other came across in a compelling way (OK, I really liked her nude scenes!).

The LaserDisc may have been Panned and Scanned (ugh!). Supposedly this is available on DVD, released in September 2004. It apparently had a very short shelf life. I cannot find it anywhere (as of December, 2004). Amazon says that their suppliers cannot provide a copy. Very frustrating. The DVD may also be P&S, but I hope not.

Highly recommended - if you can find it.

Wonderful performances and beautiful cinematography. A romantic film from start to finish. The story line is probably only that of a B movie, but there's something about this film that really appeals. Greta Scacci is an erotic charmer here. This film hasn't gotten the publicity it deserves. Peter Coyote is a bit too intense in his role, but it works, nonetheless. Jamie Lee Curtis is always great. As erotic as the film is, it's also very sad. Keep the tissues nearby; you'll need them.

Last but not least, I love the musical score, and the scenery in Italy is just heaven. There aren't really any credits given for the musical score, but I believe it's some derivative of a classical piece. Would love to know which one. I wish this film were available on DVD. I've watched this film several times on VHS, after seeing its original release in the theater.