Feast of Love
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Movie Reviews of Feast of Love
Movie Review: Come all to the feast!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is, in short, one of the best films I've seen in a long time. It is well done and has a terrific cast. Any movie w/Morgan Freeman in it automatically has its rating boosted by a star or so. He's one of those actors who can stare into a camera for 5 minutes, say a 5 word sentence and you'll swear it was the most profound thing you've ever heard in your life.
The film is about a social circle which consists of some very diverse people. One is a college professor on sabbatical (Freeman), one is a cafe owner (Greg Kinnear) while two characters are employees of the cafe (Billy Burke & Alexa Davalos). The plot is not focused, but to me that's a good thing. It is like an overview of "everyday lives" of people within the circle.
Kinnear's character is a poster boy for the mantra that nice guys finish last. His persona's luck with women is almost as bad as mine. He's a great person who always means well, but his downfall is that he's also incredibly naive. He is intelligent, but he is prone to either over-interpreting minor events or being oblivious to major events which transpire in his life. Freeman's character is a sort of mentor for him, but at times he appears to be a lost soul.
There are some profound philosophical themes in the film which are downright Schopenhauresque. In addition, there is also an allusion (deliberate or not) to a scene from Jean Paul Satre in which a character puts a nail through his hand just so he can feel something, or to see if he can feel @ all.
Many viewers are likely to contend that the film is filled with gratuitous nudity. I would disagree. While I've never been opposed to nudity in films (and never will be!), there are some movies I've seen where the nudity was contrived. Not so in this film.
Rather, to me, the nude scenes are realistic. Alexa Davalos and Radha Mitchell are very beautiful, to be sure, but they surely weren't cast for this film as eye-candy. [Mitchell reminds me a lot of Denise Crosby, BTW] The scenes in which they strip down do(!) flow with the trajectory of the story. In my mind, this movie is, quite simply, brutally honest. Yes, it IS possible for 2 people to get caught in compromising positions. Yes, it is also possible for 2 people to get into a big argument after making love. In such a circumstance, it would be contrived for the couple to put their clothes on so they could continue arguing. It's just like in so many flicks I've seen where two people make love & in the next scene it shows them still in bed, but miraculously w/their underwear on. Everyone knows such scenes are nonsense. This movie, for one, doesn't pander to such unrealistic scenes.
I would invite the people who gave this 3 stars or less to give it another view. I truly believe that this is one movie where there is more than meets the eyes. It is about love, to be sure, but it goes beyond Romantic love to also include the love involved with parenting issues as well. The characters are complex and, with the exception of one lone character, they can't be placed into categories of "good" and "evil." The film also accurately details how a couple that has broken up can(!) in fact remain friends - provided that the conditions are just right. Normally, Radha Mitchell's character would be your typical femme fatale, but this DVD gets beyond that typical pigeonhole.
I realize I've mumbled quite a lot, but this is a very difficult film to critique. Not because it's bad, but because there are so many different angles to it. I do believe that anyone looking for an honest, sincere account of love & relationships will be stirred by the present film. Now, if you'll excuse me, I will run add this one to my all-time-favorites Amazon list.
Movie Review: A Hidden Gem!
Summary: 5 Stars
Bravo! More often than not, watching a movie after reading the book is a disappointment. Whether the casting was off, the director failed to translate the story from page to screen, or too many liberties were taken with the plot, movies usually always pale in comparison to the book they were based on. After watching The Feast of Love, I feel compelled to write a review for a movie that stands apart from the rest. This is not the typical movie. Despite the stellar all-star cast, this movie received very little notice in the box office. For whatever reason, it never even came across my radar. While reading the book, I felt like the story lines could make a really good movie, so after finishing (and loving) the book, I went out and rented The Feast of Love. I was (and still am) pleasantly surprised with how great it was. Chances are, viewers of this movie will be strolling through the video rental aisles and an unfamiliar movie with an all-star cast will catch their eye. To answer the question running through their minds- you "haven't heard of it" not because it's a bad movie, but because it wasn't a monster big budget film. The Feast of Love is a hidden treasure- RENT IT! If you're in the mood for a funny, heartwarming, emotional flick about love and the people whose lives it intertwines; if you like great acting and an overall well made movie, you won't regret renting The Feast of Love. (Note, there is quite a bit of nudity/sex), so this is not one to watch with the kids.Movie Review: FEAST OF LOVE, LIFE AND LOSS! EXCELLENT FILM!
Summary: 5 Stars
FEAST OF LOVE
I rented this movie upon recommendation of a friend. I was glad I did and also quite surprised by how good of a movie it is!
Very moving and interesting story - narrated by Dr. Harry Stevenson (Freeman), it revolves around the lives of several couples and the shortcomings of loves' tender fury!
Harry and his wife Esther are an aging couple. They have been dealing with the loss of their only son to an overdose of heroin.
Bradley Smith (Kinnear) owns a coffee house on a small town in Oregon, where Harry goes every day to read his paper and many seek his council and advice. It is Harry who notices that Bradley's wife (Blair) is about to leave him for another woman (Katic).
A young woman, Chloe (Davalos) arrives at the café looking for a job and is instantly attracted to Bradley's assistant, Oscar (Hemingway). Soon they are in love but their bliss is threatened by Oscar's violent, drunk father.
Meanwhile, Bradley goes through relationships and heartache and he finds the right girl - purely by mistake.
FEAST OF LOVE is a romance/drama dealing with the foibles of life, love and loss in various generations. With a great cast, this is a movie that will provoke a myriad of emotions and in the two hours of viewing enjoyment you know that in the end there is nothing more important in life than the power of love.
(Based on a novel by Charles Baxter)
Movie Review: faith, love, choices and lies made, ...
Summary: 5 Stars
Robert Benton is definitely an actor's director, and with the script based on a solid novel, he hit home run with this movie.
I would like to associate Feast of Love with Magnolia, but this Benton movie is a bit more `less-fantastical" than PT Anderson's. The plot and character motivation are something that you would believe to be behind the façade of happy people. Choices and lies made, missed opportunities, faith, love... we all live complicated lives.
I like very much how Morgan Freeman's character was illustrated as a teacher, mentor, wise-man, but with his own baggage. It's not like the usual all-powerful narrator role that is becoming familiar for this great actor.
Other quick comments:
--There are scenes that made the movie deserve an r-rating, but they are vital to the story.
--Greg Kinnear is becoming a very good actor of `semi-losers;' he gets audience empathy effortlessly.
--Great acting in general from everyone; The actors playing Chloe and Oscar are the weakest from the ensemble (but still serviceable).
--The cinematography is mostly bright and sunny... through all the troubles and even on "heartbreaks they can't even imagine." This is another one to remember the film by.
4.5 stars!
Movie Review: A Great Movie!
Summary: 5 Stars
Feast of Love
This film captures the many facets, twists and turns of love and the human condition.
Morgan Freeman and Greg Kinnear both provide stellar performances.
The story introduces us to characters who are dealing with the many facets and forms of love and the its effect on the human condition.
Freeman plays a professor who must come to grips with the untimely death of his beloved son who has died from an overdose of heroin. Freeman's character must face the fact that while he loved his son, he had no idea that the young man was involved with illegal drugs.
Kinnear plays the warm & friendly owner of the local coffee shop, called "Jitters," where characters cross paths. He is unlucky in love, but blessed with good friends and a kind heart.
The characters must answer for themselves the question of wether love is just something that the Gods instilled in us to make us procreate.
Or, is it everything?