the fresh films reviews

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Loved (1997)

Director:
Erin Dignam

COUNTRY
USA

Genre
Drama

NORWEGIAN TITLE
Loved

RUNNING TIME
109 minutes

Producer:
Philippe Caland
Sean Penn

Screenwriter:
Erin Dignam


Cast includes:

CHARACTER ACTOR/ACTRESS RATING
Hedda Amerson Robin Wright Penn
K.D. Dietrickson William Hurt ½
Brett Amerson Amy Madigan
The Defendant Anthony Lucero ½
Leo Amerson Paul Dooley -
Kate Amerson Lucinda Jenney -
Elenore Amerson Joanna Cassidy -
Michael Sean Penn -

 

Review

This obscure drama film about a former talented swimmer who tries to piece her life together after a troubled relationship is so aloof and uncommunicative that you feel like you've snuck into a party you weren't invited to. Writer/director Erin Dignam arguably aims for authenticity and depth by being offish, and it works in the sense that Robin Wright Penn's lead character comes off as remarkably true, even if she still isn’t particularly interesting. William Hurt plays her lawyer in an even more introspective manner than we usually see him. His character seems absentminded, almost like a distraction, until we ultimately get a little glimpse into his own demons, which seem to gravitate him towards Wright Penn. It's all a somewhat slight and detached character study, but at least it's an actual study. The women are in focus here, which may be some sort of accomplishment in itself, and the film tries to discuss issues which it doesn’t claim to have a definitive answer to beforehand. For that Dignam and her cast deserve credit, even if the end product is artistically lacking and never quite comes alive. Sean Penn produced and appears in an allegorical cameo.

Copyright © 15.04.2021 Fredrik Gunerius Fevang

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