“My logic slipped a long time ago.”
What’s it all about? In 2039, American astronaut Lee Miller (Gunner Wright) becomes stranded in the International Space Station after an unexplained apocalyptic event causes Miller to lose contact with Earth.
William Eubank’s stunning sci-fi feature LOVE is very much the lovechild — oh, puns — of Duncan Jones’ MOON and Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, which is both a blessing and a curse for the filmmaker and audience. Because of the subject matter, the audience’s expectations are heightened to unattainable levels — MOON and 2001 are arguably two of the greatest science fiction films ever made. LOVE itself, however, is worthy of being the descendant of these two films because of its unflinchingly resolute depiction of both the physical and spiritual aspects of humanity. This depiction is often visceral, as it is in MOON, and often abstract and intellectual, as it is in the third act of 2001.
Though it is difficult not to negatively compare Gunner Wright’s performance to that of Sam Rockwell’s (tragically overlooked) performance in MOON, Wright does create a likable presence in LOVE that is well-disposed to the audience’s pity. The script for LOVE is sometimes clunky, attempting to connect separate narratives from 1864, 2039 and 2045 together with the least amount of seams. There is definitely a better edit somewhere in the film, but the film’s inability to achieve this does not make LOVE unenjoyable. The story is still a beautiful thing to watch.
Of course, William Eubank does not have the same budget as Jones or Kubrick, and the visuals and special effects also falter occasionally — specifically the “third act 2001 stuff”. Eubank did, however, use what money he had in frugal and effective ways. The International Space Station that Lee Miller occupies, truly the centrepeice of LOVE, was painstakingly created by Eubank in his parents’ backyard. The shot of Earth in the windows of the ISS? That’s Eubank’s television playing a DVD on repeat. (You wouldn’t guess that in a million years after seeing the film.) Most of LOVE’s budget was spent later in its shoot on the civil war scenes — the only scenes that take place on Earth. It’s here where you can see Eubank’s cinematography roots plain as day; The slow-motion, sepia-toned sequences depicting soldiers in 1864 are gorgeous and often look like paintings come to life.
With four years of production, multiple trips to Home Depot for props and the use of found objects for sets, it is my express hope that the director includes a “making of” documentary with his film when it becomes available on DVD.
Toronto After Dark Film Festival runs from October 20-27, featuring gala parties, nightly pub social events, Q&A’s with filmmakers and a zombie appreciation night with reduced tickets for the undead. For complete festival and film info including trailers and advanced tickets, visit www.torontoafterdark.com.
Notes: Directed by William Eubank; Produced by Angels & Airwaves, Tom DeLonge, Mark Eaton, Daniel Figur, Vertel Scott, Nate Kolbeck; Written by William Eubank; Starring Gunner Wright; Music by Angels & Airwaves; Cinematography by William Eubank; Editing by Brian Berdan, Scott Chestnut.
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Yayyyyyy