By Chris Bright
In Love Is Strange, veteran character actors, John Lithgow and Alfred Molina, play one of the most believable on-screen couples that you’ll meet this year. The first thing that you’ll hear about Ira Sachs’ New York tale is that these two veteran actors portray a married gay couple; homosexuality, however, is not the central theme at play. On a much grander scale, Love Is Strange is about the pressures of modern day living, and how relationships of all kinds can be tested.
Ben (John Lithgow) and George (Alfred Molina) have been together for 39 years, and after finally tying the knot, George is unexpectedly fired from his job as a Catholic school music teacher. Much to their dismay, Ben and George are forced to sell their apartment and live separately with friends and family until they find a new place. Tensions build between all those involved, particularly Ben’s nephew (Darren Burrows), his wife (Marisa Tomei), and their son (Charlie Tahan).
As a couple, Lithgow and Molina are flawless. It’s like watching your own grandparents, who are still madly in love after decades together. And while Sachs doesn’t dance around the fact that these characters are gay, it doesn’t feel like he’s trying to cause a stir with the fact. Sure, there are subtle points made along the way, such as how kids now use the term ‘gay’ as a way of meaning uncool, or mentions of the Catholic Church and NYPD, but these serve as talking points rather than in-your-face statements. “That’s the lovely thing about the film,” John Lithgow told FilmInk upon the film’s release. “Same-sex marriage, marriage equality, and gay marriage are hot-button issues of our time, and the legal questions have been on the front pages of every newspaper. But this movie gives it a human face. It’s about two old gay men who are finally allowed to get married. You don’t see those people very often. Now you have Ben and George, and you see a wonderful and detailed portrait of a long, long relationship between two men.”
The theme of ageing is also a pertinent one in Love Is Strange, and again, it’s one rarely seen in American cinema. “This movie is not so much about Ben and George ageing, but rather about the relationship ageing,” Lithgow offers. “They’re growing old together. Ben is frail, and there are a couple of indications that his heart is not good. It’s such an interesting revelation in the end, to hear that Ben was the sexually reckless one early in the relationship, because he’s now old and frail. He’s a tired old lion. Ben’s such a great character to play because when you get to be my age, most of the really great, meaty roles are in the theatre. Witness King Lear. That’s why I love theatre, and I won’t stop. In movies, I don’t get such lead roles at my age. It’s a curse – a very benign curse, because I work all the time – but in the many films leading up to Love Is Strange, a long list of major movie stars have played my children!”
While the final act fizzles out a little, it’s not enough to deter from the warm and fuzzy feeling created by every actor involved throughout the rest of this profoundly charming film.
Little Men is released in cinemas on December 8. Click through for our review and feature on the film.
