Death in Love (2008)

The devastating legacy of a liaison between a concentration camp inmate and a Nazi doctor reflects on the lives of her sons.

Director:

Boaz Yakin

Writer:

Boaz Yakin

Stars:

Josh Lucas, Jacqueline Bisset, Lukas Haas

2 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Josh Lucas	...	Eldest Son
Jacqueline Bisset	...	The Mother
Lukas Haas	...	Youngest Son
Morena Baccarin	...	Beautiful Woman
Betty Gilpin	...	Young Model
Emma Bell	...	Young Girl
Vanessa Kai	...	Asian Woman
Carrington Vilmont	...	The Doctor
Jean Brassard	...	Young Girl's Father
Adam Brody	...	Talent Agent
Stu Richel	...	The Father
Matt Walton	...	Young Father
Jake Houston	...	Younger Brother
Nicholas Sireci	...	Young Brother
Kelli Giddish	...	Young Mother

Storyline

During World War II, a Jewish woman saves her life thanks to a love affair with a doctor in charge of human experiments in a Nazi concentration camp. The woman then marries and moves to New York, where she raises two emotionally stunted sons. The eldest son battles his sense of disconnection from life while working at a scam modeling agency, where he befriends a charming young co-worker who begins to restore in him a sense of excitement and purpose. The neurotic younger son is locked in a compulsive, co-dependent relationship with his mother.

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Plot Keywords:

nazi | concentration camp | jewish | affair | cigarette smoking | 

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Taglines:

Sin. Suffer. Repeat.

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Genres:

Drama | Romance | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for disturbing violent and graphic sexual content, nudity and language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English German French

Release Date:

17 July 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

Death in Love

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

DI Love

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

None of the characters have names, the screenplay was written specifically for all the characters not to address each other by name.

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Quotes

Eldest Son: No, don't. Please, don't leave. I'm sorry.
Beautiful Woman: For what?
Eldest Son: It... just... I'm sorry.
Beautiful Woman: No, you're not.
Eldest Son: What the hell is that supposed to mean? I'm telling you I'm sorry, and you're telling me that I'm not for nothing will change that. I'm sorry.
Beautiful Woman: No. You can say whatever you want to say, and you cannot take it back. You're not sorry. From that impassive tone of voice and those empty eyes, you're not sorry.
Eldest Son: Please don't go. You're hurt about what I said. I'm sorry.
Beautiful Woman: No... you're not.
Eldest Son: It's not like I did ...
[...]

User Reviews

Weak and indulgent film-making in all its glory

What happens when the writer of some gems as "The Punisher", "Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights" who also directed crap like "Uptown Girls" decides to write and direct an artsy flick?

Death In Love is the answer. This film does not pull any punch when it comes to gruesome and explicit scenes. Writer/director Boaz Yakin had to finance this film all by himself because he had specific things in mind. This would never have been approved by studios and I understand why he got no financial backing. Having a specific vision, refusing to compromise are all laudable as far as I am concerned.

It's just that, unfortunately, Yakin's vision seems terribly limited. So are his skills as a storyteller. The founding story arc revolves around a Jewish girl who begins an affair with a doctor overseeing experiments on human in a concentration camp during WWII. Yakin goes all guns blazing trying to showcase the intensity of this relationship and fails spectacularly because there is a total lack of chemistry between the actors and the script is emotionally numb right from the start. She just supposedly falls in love at first sight, with a psycho doctor who looks like an extra in an infomercial.

The second story arc (which gets the most screen time) takes place in the present and features this woman again with her husband and two adult sons. All of which seem to be mysteriously as nuts as she is for no reason whatsoever.

In between, we get flashbacks from the time her sons were children and how she'd go nuts and scare them, but it's done awkwardly, like what you'd expect in a direct to video "it happened for real" melodrama featuring Melissa Gilbert or some other has-been.

The present-day story arc features the most interesting and intriguing scenes. The youngest son (Lukas Haas) is a total waste of screen time as an obnoxious man-child who has various phobias and still live with his parent. But the eldest son (Josh Lucas) gets a lot of screen time. He's almost 40 years old, seemingly jaded about everything. Of lot of his scenes (particularly with his co-worker played by Adam Brody) feature dialogue that, while not amazing, is still better than what the rest of the movie has to offer.

There are a few themes displayed but Yakin, in the least subtle way EVER implies a strong connection between pain and sexuality. In fact, so strong that he almost implies one is synonymous with the other. This could be a powerful and interesting theme to explore in a few characters but here, it's just not done well. Every character on screen has intense desire to masturbate, and it seems nobody is able to make love without beating his partner at the same time. It's just... amateurish. The story and characters feel artificial despite all the courageous grit Yakin put in the film.

There is also a strong undercurrent of self-loathing in all the main characters. Yakin is Jewish himself and I sensed that he was extremely critical of a segment of people who shun their origins and hate what they are. And I can appreciate his attempt to highlight that. One of the most powerful scene, to me, was a small one where the Jewish girl at the concentration camp (who receives favorable treatment from the doctor, her lover) refuses to give the rest of her meal to a starving Jewish violinist. Instead, she sadistically eats every last crumb, as if she renounced her Jewish heritage and what she really is.

All in all, I think Yakin tackled powerful issues in a very confusing way. This feels like a very personal film but unfortunately, the few powerful scenes in there, the great performances by Lucas, Bisset and Haas and the grittiness can't save a weak script and a weak story.