Love and Death on Long Island

Rating:
Summary: Exceptional bittersweet view of sexual obsession
Review: This updated "Death in Venice" with humor/satire will not appeal to everyone. After all, it lacks Glenn Close wielding a knife. What it does offer are three striking peformances from John Hurt as an older man obsessed with teen idol Jason Priestley, and Fiona Loewi as the teen idol's girlfriend, who is considerably sharper than she first appears. (There is also a wonderful cameo role by Sheila Hancock as Hurt's housekeeper. Ms. Hancock, for my money, is one of England's best comic actresses and makes too few movies.) Hurt, as an out-of-touch (out-of-this-century?) writer who rejoins the living when he accidentally catches Priestley in a Grade B Teen-Cumming-of-Age-Flick, is perfect, as always. The contrast between the Grade B images of overt, low comedy sexuality, with the "real-life" (as opposed to "reel-life") Hurt in active mode is just one of the many joys this exceptional movie offers. Hurt's futile but brilliant attempts to seduce Mr. Priestley under Ms. Loewi's nose -- a nose that soon smells something off -- is both poignant and hilarious. Definitely one of the best films of the year....

Rating:
Summary: slow torture
Review: We were shocked by the rave reviews of this movie -- especially the comparison on the video jacket to the "Full Monty". Perhaps we missed the humor (where was it?), but we found the story painful and slow. Too bad, because John Hurt is usually good at whatever he does... but when given a bad script and a worse supporting cast, what can he do? How can this be seen as a comedy?! Felt like a depressing waste of an evening. No love and lots of death (of brain cells) on Long Island.

Rating:
Summary: Very disappointing
Review: When I read the reviews of this movie on its release I was eager to see it. It sounded quirky & interesting, not the usual predictable product of a Hollywood factory. Unfortunately, this shallow film is more TV sitcom than anything else, with talking cars, supermarket shopping-basket confrontations, a goofy landlady & a bunch of phony pseudo-Cheers diner patrons. Nothing rings true on either an emotional or satirical level. I'm surprised it didn't show up as a Fox series. In particular I found John Hurt's performance disappointingly indifferent. See Ian McKellen in Gods and Monsters in a similar role & similar setup to appreciate what some dimensional acting might have wrought on this limp effort.