I Love Your Work (2003) Reviews

• All-star cast doesn't save this move that will leave you wondering "What??"

  lahdidah2004-03-22

  I saw this movie at a screening during the South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin. The editing was cutting-edge, the cast was full of great actors who played their parts expertly, there were some great lines, great cinematography, the sets and scenery were perfect, the cameos were good...but somehow, it still doesn't work. I don't know what happened or where it went wrong, but it will leave you questioning what you just saw and if you missed some critical part of the movie that would make it make sense. But you didn't. Towards the end, it just becomes too convoluted to work. And having had many discussions with other film-goers from the festival, I can tell you with certainty that I was not the only one who felt that way.

• Muddled and misanthropic

  mcnally2003-09-06

  I saw this film at the 2003 Toronto International Film Festival. Giovanni Ribisi is a movie star living what I hope is a caricature of a movie star's life (although in Hollywood, there seems to be no such thing as a caricature). He's becoming paranoid, seeing stalkers everywhere and suspecting his movie-star wife of infidelity (with Elvis Costello, no less). Then he meets a fan who seems so normal, and proceeds to screw up this man's life, all the while descending into some sort of madness, and flashing back to a time in his life when he seemed to have normalcy and real love. This film is a bit of a mess, actually. Lots of flashbacks and movie stars portraying movie stars portraying movie stars. It got a bit too "meta" at times, and the narrative was muddled. There was also an ambiguity about the whole fame thing, which is not very new, and frankly, hard for an audience to sympathize with. I love movies and hate the movie business. So, apparently, does Adam Goldberg. So how come I didn't like this more? (7/10) P.S. Before the screening, I saw Giovanni Ribisi walking down the lineup filming the crowd with his camcorder. In addition to Ribisi and director Adam Goldberg, Franka Potente, Christina Ricci, and Shalom Harlow were also at the screening. Of course, after seeing the caustic way in which fans (and stars) are portrayed in the film, it would be just about impossible to say anything to any of them, even if you could get close.

• Richly layered and textured

  indiephile22003-09-15

  The story follows the deteriorating mental state of movie star Gray Evans (Giovanni Ribisi). He's married to a movie star (Potente) but he essentially married her because he saw her in a movie (a french new wave musical) and is tortured by the fact that she clearly can't live up to the perfections of that character. So he stalked his own wife. And Jason Lee is stalking him. Gray's paranoia increases to the point that he imagines everyone in the world staring, speaking, trying to touch him and in this distressed state he seeks refuge in, of all places, a video store. Here he meets a young video store clerk and his girlfriend, John and Jane (Joshua Jackson and Marisa Coughlan). They represent to him an ideal, the life he once had before fame. Where love was real and a commitment meant something. What does he do with this new found inspiration? He stalks them of course, buying the apartment opposite them and monitoring their every move. In the process he infects their relationship with his misery, resulting in their own break up. Using a little more of his own psychotic logic, Gray jumps in to save the day, solving the problem by beating the crap out of Jackson. Thus freeing himself from his demons, Gray is then able to move on to a happier place, the great movie theater in the sky... Goldberg may be accused of solipsism. This is a movie about an actor, directed by an actor. And why not, aren't you supposed to write what you know? The main character is utterly self indulgent, he has a potentially great life but seems to be caught up in his own 'poor me' world. Bummer, successful movie star, married to another movie star, just how bad can life get?! Buy then again, who were the Montagues and the Capulets other than wealthy, self indulgent individuals? The same character flaw applies here as in Romeo and Juliet. The central character is not a philanthropist, he thinks of no-one other than himself and for that he pays the ultimate price. That's what makes this movie a modern day tragedy, a cautionary tale. Sure, it speaks to actors more strongly than anyone else but there's a message in it for everyone. The grass is always greener. Richly textured and layered, the film shows many influences from David Lynch to David Fincher. Goldberg gets magnificent perfomances from an astonishing cast. Ribisi is dazzling in his misery, Jared Harris and Eric Siegel hilarious, and Marisa Coughlan puts up an incredibly mature performance in a role that she could have coasted through. The cinematography is excellent, giving the film a look way more impressive than the budget. This is the kind of movie that if you get it and it touches you, you won't want to stop watching it.

• Thought provoking and enjoyable

  AlmaCuerpocaliente2006-07-03

  It seems people either love or hate this movie. I think novels, movies, and art do not have to follow an "essay" format. There's no requirement that a hypothesis must be proffered and clearly and logically proved within the movie/book. The goal may be to make people think, to raise questions without giving easy answers, and to do so in a framework that incites both feeling and thought simultaneously. Hrm, I don't think I'm writing this in a way that really gets my thoughts across, but there you have it. I enjoyed the movie. It was thought provoking without being highbrow. There was no "moral story" laid out or beaten into you. I'd recommend this movie for people who like mystery, thought, and don't necessarily require a definite answer/conclusion to enjoy a film. The acting was super, and the movie flowed well. :) Alma

• My take on what the movie was all about.

  tungi_kana2006-04-15

  I just saw the film and like others on this board, my wife didn't get what had just happened in the film. I explained it to her as being this: At the end of the movie you see Gray and his girlfriend in the theater watching a musical version of a film starring a girl named Mia. Gray's girlfriend says "You're going to leave me for her one day, aren't you?". I believe all that preceded this scene happened in Gray's mind as a daydream about what his life would be like if he did get that chance. The reason I think this is because I have done exactly that when a comment from someone has set me off daydreaming. If you think I am way off base, feel free to let me know like I know people like to do.