‘Love After Love’ and other films.
The title of Russ Harbaugh’s debut feature, “Love After Love,” suggests that the moments of love that we witness in this shaggy, fully lived-in family portrait will at some point end and that later there will be another, different love. Harbaugh’s style is rooted in the immediate, snatching snippets of life out of thin air, but the structure of the title suggests a nostalgia for the present, a sense of already remembering, a desire to hold on to moments before they slip away, be they perfect or ugly or awkward.
“Love After Love” follows Suzanne (Andie MacDowell) as she copes with her husband’s death. Her adult sons, Nicholas (Chris O’Dowd) and Chris (James Adomian), are also thrown into a domestic tailspin after the loss. We’re privy to the roller coaster emotional life of grieving people. The tone is intentionally unsteady, swinging from arguments to upbeat moments.
Nick and Suzanne regard each other’s romantic lives warily, occasionally breaking out into open hostility. MacDowell and O’Dowd are unexpectedly wonderful together, and it’s the finest work MacDowell has had the chance to do in some time. She’s luminous and raw as a woman grasping to put her life back together. O’Dowd also stretches himself in a complex, and often unsympathetic, role.
Deaths bookend the film, and are intertwined with the great, beautiful bond of familial love that accompanies this life-changing loss. It’s a viewing experience that’s challenging, unflinching and deeply honest. “Love After Love.” Not rated. Running time: 1 hour, 31 minutes. Playing: Laemmle Royal.