Two childhood sweethearts, both now widowed, share a night by a lake in the mountains. A love story for those who are alone.
It's always tremendously gratifying to see a long-running character actor get the platform of a leading role in a movie, and instantly recognizable mainstay Dale Dickey surely makes the most of the opportunity in Max Walker's modest directorial debut. Silverman. This offbeat romance revolves around middle-aged Faye (Dickey) who has parked her RV at a specific campsite in the Colorado mountains, where she awaits the arrival of someone special; a childhood sweetheart, Lito (Wes Studi), whom she hasn't seen in many decades. Each still mourning the death of their spouses sometime before, they plan to meet up, catch up, review the past, and maybe even chart a course for the future.
Director: Max Walker-Silverman
Writer: Max Walker-Silverman
Stars: Dale Dickey, Wes Studi, Michelle Wilson
Although it might be a cliché of film criticism, A Love Song is easily described as a cup of hot chocolate from a movie, slipping by on a calm breeze during its snappy 81 minutes. Despite this short running time, Walker-Silverman is in no hurry at all, and the Lito de Studi does not even appear until the beginning of the second act. Until then, the filmmaker focuses his camera on Faye as she kills time waiting for Lito's arrival, made up of numerous wordless scenes where she listens to music and catches crabs, with the audience invited to simply get drunk from the relaxed atmosphere and picturesque mountain scenery. .
There are also unexpected spots of dry nonsense; Faye crosses paths with a series of memorable characters, including a kind mailman delivering letters, a black lesbian couple contemplating marriage, and best of all, a family whose father is buried under Faye's trailer and who wish to dig him up. to bury it again. elsewhere.
The dynamic inevitably changes once Lito finally arrives, but that laid-back vibe remains pretty much the same. Neither Faye nor Lito is very fond of raising their voices, and listening to them pore over memories, bond over their mutual grief, and explore if they really still know each other. So many decades later, it seems that we are aware of a most private and intimate conversation that we do not have to listen to.
Watching them play guitar together, lament the passage of time, ponder the pangs of love, and of course explore their own possible romance would be a boon to most other movies, but there's virtually no desire to enjoy here. of the melodrama or even really escalating the sexual tension. After all, as one particularly sweet moment demonstrates, sometimes you just want someone to hold your ice cream cone while you serve them a frozen treat.
He may not know the name Dale Dickey, but he'll almost certainly recognize her from some of her more than 125 film and television roles since 1995, usually playing drifters, drug addicts, "highlanders," etc. she won an Independent Spirit Award for her performance in 2010's Winter's Bone. Her unique, deeply expressive face lends an easy character to even the most basic role, and though her most conventional roles are often her most boisterous as well, here she is asked to say much more through his frowning countenance.
The quiet, restless impatience as she waits for Lito to show up could get boring with a less interesting actress playing Faye, but she effortlessly commands attention, even when the film's rhythms are more nonchalant. That is not to say that she doesn't have mature opportunities to reach more external emotional rhythms; a mid-movie monologue about grief is sure to touch all but the most callous.
And while this is absolutely the Dickey show, the great Wes Studi brings out the seriousness expected of him, showing up just when the audience itself might start to get nervous. Like Faye, Lito is quietly tortured by an anguish that won't go away, but despite the inevitable cloud that hangs over their potential relationship, there's not an ounce of rehearsed artifice in their wholly authentic interactions.
For his feature film debut, Max Walker-Silverman has put together an understated visual feast of a film, DP Alfonso Herrera Salcedo giving the picture a gritty photochemical look while apparently relying heavily on natural light. There's also a distinctly timeless quality to the film's aesthetic, aided by a general lack of contemporary technology and pop culture references throughout.
Watch A Love Song 2022 Movie Trailer
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