Love Lost, Found and Impermanent

The Face Of Love is a movie for boomers. Director Arie Posin talked about the challenges of financing the movie. There were three strikes working against the film - a woman in the lead role; starring actors (Annett Bening and Ed Harris) not in their 20s and on the cover of US Weekly; and it's a drama, not a thriller, a comedy or a science fiction. But eventually it got made with a moderate budget and an ace cast, including Robin Williams in a rare, non-comedic role and Jessie Weixler, best known as one of the  investigators, Robin, in the popular TV drama The Good Wife.

Professional film critics weren't kind to the movie, but I liked it - perhaps, from a baby boomer's perspective. All three principal actors in the film portray boomers looking for love after a major change in life. They've all lost their partners or spouses either through death or divorce. So they all choose somebody whom they like to believe in - Nikki (played by Annette Bening), the real estate staging agent, wants to relive her romance with her late husband; Tom (played by Ed Harris) wants to seek love before his health crisis implodes; and Roger (played by Robin Williams) wants somebody to replace his dead wife.

It's an artsy movie with scenes shot in the L.A. County Museum of Art and within a beautiful house designed by a successful architect. So even if you don't like the plot which, at times, seems incredulous, it's a pleasing picture for the eyes. Every character in the film is living in delusion. Nikki wants to cling on to a "clone duplicate" of her late husband without telling him the truth. Tom wants to seek temporary love without telling Nikki about his health crisis. And Roger just doesn't want to accept the reality that his next door neighbour doesn't love him.

Both Bening and Harris are in their best form although the former has not aged well. The film is about love lost, love found, but eventually gone again. The only thing that lasts is a painting capturing the essence of love. The movie manages to tell a romantic story between two aging boomers without being overly sappy!