Love Is All You Need Reviews
c0up
Super Reviewer
January 20, 2013
Brosnan and Dyrholm's characters are well fleshed out, and undergo a cliched, yet well acted arc. Then there are the extremely poorly written husband sister-in-law. There's nothing good about these two, and they seem there to move the story and character development of others along, doing so in a rather crude manner that made me cringe. This unevenness totally disappoints, and takes away from the film as a whole.
Brosnan is a most pleasant surprise!
'Love Is All You Need'. Brosnan and Dyrholm turn in two great performances, but the screenplay makes weak choices in creating conflict.
Brosnan and Dyrholm's characters are well fleshed out, and undergo a cliched, yet well acted arc. Then there are the extremely poorly written husband sister-in-law. There's nothing good about these two, and they seem there to move the story and character development of others along, doing so in a rather crude manner that made me cringe. This unevenness totally disappoints, and takes away from the film as a whole.
Brosnan is a most pleasant surprise!
www.themoviewaffler.com
Super Reviewer
April 29, 2013
Scandinavian cinema, and its TV, has become synonymous with gritty crime dramas in recent years. The romantic comedy isn't the first genre you associate with the region, particularly Denmark, the home of such controversy courting directors as Lars Von Trier, Nicholas Winding Refn and Thomas Vinterberg. Indeed, Susanne Bier, the director of 'Love Is All You Need', is herself known for much heavier fare. The theme of coping with death runs through her work and is again present here, with Brosnan playing a man who becomes angry at the world following his wife's senseless death in a car accident.
That's not to say this is a heavy movie, far from it, but it does contain a level of substance absent from the romantic comedies Hollywood churns out. For a start, our two leads are actually likable and worth rooting for. Dyrholm feels like an everyday middle-aged woman who's been dropped into a rom-com scenario. Brosnan's character is more of a movie archetype but he manages to make the role seem fresh. The Irishman is a very under-rated actor, possibly because he doesn't take himself too seriously, but he possesses a range he rarely receives credit for. In the over-looked 2006 western, 'Seraphim Falls' he delivered a stunning dramatic performance and here he shows just how good his comic timing is.
Apart from a disappointingly predictable ending, 'LIAYN' is a charming rom-com aimed at middle-aged viewers but accessible to all but those too ignorant to read subtitles.
Hairdresser Ida (Dyrholm) sports a blond wig, concealing the fact she has just come through chemo treatment for breast cancer, yet still awaits final results. She returns home to find her husband, Leif (Bodnia), cheating on her with a younger woman from his office. The couple's daughter, Astrid (Egelind), is about to be married in Italy, so they decide to travel there separately. At the airport, Ida crashes her car into that of Philip (Brosnan), a grumpy and misanthropic fruit magnate whose outlook is as bitter as the lemons he trades in. Philip just happens to be the father of the young man Ida's daughter is marrying. Reluctantly, Philip and Ida travel to Italy together. Once there, an unlikely romance blossoms between the two.
Scandinavian cinema, and its TV, has become synonymous with gritty crime dramas in recent years. The romantic comedy isn't the first genre you associate with the region, particularly Denmark, the home of such controversy courting directors as Lars Von Trier, Nicholas Winding Refn and Thomas Vinterberg. Indeed, Susanne Bier, the director of 'Love Is All You Need', is herself known for much heavier fare. The theme of coping with death runs through her work and is again present here, with Brosnan playing a man who becomes angry at the world following his wife's senseless death in a car accident.
That's not to say this is a heavy movie, far from it, but it does contain a level of substance absent from the romantic comedies Hollywood churns out. For a start, our two leads are actually likable and worth rooting for. Dyrholm feels like an everyday middle-aged woman who's been dropped into a rom-com scenario. Brosnan's character is more of a movie archetype but he manages to make the role seem fresh. The Irishman is a very under-rated actor, possibly because he doesn't take himself too seriously, but he possesses a range he rarely receives credit for. In the over-looked 2006 western, 'Seraphim Falls' he delivered a stunning dramatic performance and here he shows just how good his comic timing is.
Apart from a disappointingly predictable ending, 'LIAYN' is a charming rom-com aimed at middle-aged viewers but accessible to all but those too ignorant to read subtitles.
May 9, 2013
This is the first time in a long time that I've enjoyed a film this much. Very good script and subtle characterisation that really rang true. Both leads are great.
April 30, 2013
Highly enjoyable. A well written romantic comedy with a great cast, where every single character has so much back story, highly rewarding to the spectator. Love Is All You Need follows the same tradition of Muriel's Wedding, and Four Weddings and a Funeral. Susan Bier nail it again.
shogunt
May 2, 2013
The oddity is in who is bringing us this lark of a film. Danish filmmaker Susanne Bier, the Oscar-winning director behind powerful emotional dramas In a Better World, Brothers, and After the Wedding, at times seems to be performing some sort of broad comedy experiment to see if she can pull something like this off. She gets some help from a top notch cast, but it's really the gorgeous locale on the Italian Riviera that is the real star.
Framed around that most tired of rom-com fixtures, the grand family wedding, the story centers on one especially chaotic weekend where two mis-matched clans must come together for the sake of their kids. In the beginning we meet Ida (Trine Dyrholm), a married hair dresser who has just survived a bout of breast cancer, and is looking forward to her daughter Astrid's (Molly Blixt Egelind) upcoming nuptials. Her good mood is crushed when she comes home to find her husband of 25 years with another woman. Oops. Pierce Brosnan, who must feel some sort of Mamma Mia deja vu (minus the singing, thank goodness), plays Philip, a businessman and a fellow lonely soul. A widower, he's thrust his energies completely into his work, and left thoughts of love behind. He also happens to be the groom's father, which makes it awkward when he and Ida literally crash into one another for the first time. Double oops.
And it goes from there, as Bier and her longtime writing partner Anders Thomas Jensen pile on one absurd obstacle after another. The groom is oddly upset that their lovely, palatial villa doesn't have all of the furniture already in place, and launches into a whining screed about it. We're supposed to relate to this guy? Ida's husband shows up at the wedding with his lover, so cartoonishly oblivious that it's tough to take him seriously. Philip's aggressive harpy of a sister-in-law has the hots for him, and makes sure everybody knows it. Ida's son shows up and can barely be restrained from kicking his father's ass. Oh, and the groom might actually be gay. It'd be almost funny if it weren't so exhausting, and the sad part is that's hardly everything Bier throws against the wall to see what will stick.
Dyrholm is arguably Denmark's most popular actress, and it's easy to see why. She rises above the pedestrian script and creates a woman who seems like a real woman with insecurities, fears, and more than her share of odd quirks. Brosnan plays his role nicely, and finds some genuine chemistry with Dyrholm. It's a pleasure to watch a love story about two older characters that doesn't devolve into crass jokes involving Viagra. As mentioned earlier, the film really does find some emotional truth when it bothers to quiet down for a spell. It just doesn't happen nearly enough. The rest of the characters are badly-drawn caricatures, nothing more. Love Is All You Need is by no means awful, but nor is it very good. It's palatable, enjoyable fluff that will probably sell a few airline tickets.
Hey, remember when you endured last week's putrid ensemble The Big Wedding and decided you wanted a whole lot more where that came from? No? Don't fret because nobody said that, but that's mostly what you're going to get out of Love Is All You Need, a romantic comedy for older folks that is so airy it's likely to float away at the slightest gust of wind. At the same time, it's so crammed full of sitcom comedy shtick that it's a wonder all of it fit in a 2-hour window. At least it's awfully pretty to look at, and a few moments of tenderness when it bothers to quiet down for a few minutes.
The oddity is in who is bringing us this lark of a film. Danish filmmaker Susanne Bier, the Oscar-winning director behind powerful emotional dramas In a Better World, Brothers, and After the Wedding, at times seems to be performing some sort of broad comedy experiment to see if she can pull something like this off. She gets some help from a top notch cast, but it's really the gorgeous locale on the Italian Riviera that is the real star.
Framed around that most tired of rom-com fixtures, the grand family wedding, the story centers on one especially chaotic weekend where two mis-matched clans must come together for the sake of their kids. In the beginning we meet Ida (Trine Dyrholm), a married hair dresser who has just survived a bout of breast cancer, and is looking forward to her daughter Astrid's (Molly Blixt Egelind) upcoming nuptials. Her good mood is crushed when she comes home to find her husband of 25 years with another woman. Oops. Pierce Brosnan, who must feel some sort of Mamma Mia deja vu (minus the singing, thank goodness), plays Philip, a businessman and a fellow lonely soul. A widower, he's thrust his energies completely into his work, and left thoughts of love behind. He also happens to be the groom's father, which makes it awkward when he and Ida literally crash into one another for the first time. Double oops.
And it goes from there, as Bier and her longtime writing partner Anders Thomas Jensen pile on one absurd obstacle after another. The groom is oddly upset that their lovely, palatial villa doesn't have all of the furniture already in place, and launches into a whining screed about it. We're supposed to relate to this guy? Ida's husband shows up at the wedding with his lover, so cartoonishly oblivious that it's tough to take him seriously. Philip's aggressive harpy of a sister-in-law has the hots for him, and makes sure everybody knows it. Ida's son shows up and can barely be restrained from kicking his father's ass. Oh, and the groom might actually be gay. It'd be almost funny if it weren't so exhausting, and the sad part is that's hardly everything Bier throws against the wall to see what will stick.
Dyrholm is arguably Denmark's most popular actress, and it's easy to see why. She rises above the pedestrian script and creates a woman who seems like a real woman with insecurities, fears, and more than her share of odd quirks. Brosnan plays his role nicely, and finds some genuine chemistry with Dyrholm. It's a pleasure to watch a love story about two older characters that doesn't devolve into crass jokes involving Viagra. As mentioned earlier, the film really does find some emotional truth when it bothers to quiet down for a spell. It just doesn't happen nearly enough. The rest of the characters are badly-drawn caricatures, nothing more. Love Is All You Need is by no means awful, but nor is it very good. It's palatable, enjoyable fluff that will probably sell a few airline tickets.
May 1, 2013
Een draak van romantisch/drama mag dit genoemd worden, omdat niks uit de film origineel of creatief is uitgewerkt. Enig pluspuntje is er voor Pierce Brosnan, maar Love Is All You Need wankelt al meteen op een dun touw door alle toevalligheden en voorspelbare plotpunten. We hebben Susanne Bier betere films zien maken, en laten we hopen die ook in de toekomst te kunnen zien !
gina m.
May 1, 2013
Beautiful heartfelt movie. This film is mostly in Danish except for Pierce Brosnan's parts, the rest is subtitled. But it doesnt feel like a foreign film because it is so honest and relatable. The whole cast does an amazing job, and the script is so well done. Trine Dyrholm gives such life to this character that you love her from the beginning. If you like honest, dramatic, romance with a hint of comedy and light heartedness, this is for you. Great film.
April 30, 2013
Funny and moving in equal parts, a delightful little movie featuring Brosnan's best role since The Matador.
www.themoviewaffler.com
Super Reviewer
April 29, 2013
Scandinavian cinema, and its TV, has become synonymous with gritty crime dramas in recent years. The romantic comedy isn't the first genre you associate with the region, particularly Denmark, the home of such controversy courting directors as Lars Von Trier, Nicholas Winding Refn and Thomas Vinterberg. Indeed, Susanne Bier, the director of 'Love Is All You Need', is herself known for much heavier fare. The theme of coping with death runs through her work and is again present here, with Brosnan playing a man who becomes angry at the world following his wife's senseless death in a car accident.
That's not to say this is a heavy movie, far from it, but it does contain a level of substance absent from the romantic comedies Hollywood churns out. For a start, our two leads are actually likable and worth rooting for. Dyrholm feels like an everyday middle-aged woman who's been dropped into a rom-com scenario. Brosnan's character is more of a movie archetype but he manages to make the role seem fresh. The Irishman is a very under-rated actor, possibly because he doesn't take himself too seriously, but he possesses a range he rarely receives credit for. In the over-looked 2006 western, 'Seraphim Falls' he delivered a stunning dramatic performance and here he shows just how good his comic timing is.
Apart from a disappointingly predictable ending, 'LIAYN' is a charming rom-com aimed at middle-aged viewers but accessible to all but those too ignorant to read subtitles.
Hairdresser Ida (Dyrholm) sports a blond wig, concealing the fact she has just come through chemo treatment for breast cancer, yet still awaits final results. She returns home to find her husband, Leif (Bodnia), cheating on her with a younger woman from his office. The couple's daughter, Astrid (Egelind), is about to be married in Italy, so they decide to travel there separately. At the airport, Ida crashes her car into that of Philip (Brosnan), a grumpy and misanthropic fruit magnate whose outlook is as bitter as the lemons he trades in. Philip just happens to be the father of the young man Ida's daughter is marrying. Reluctantly, Philip and Ida travel to Italy together. Once there, an unlikely romance blossoms between the two.
Scandinavian cinema, and its TV, has become synonymous with gritty crime dramas in recent years. The romantic comedy isn't the first genre you associate with the region, particularly Denmark, the home of such controversy courting directors as Lars Von Trier, Nicholas Winding Refn and Thomas Vinterberg. Indeed, Susanne Bier, the director of 'Love Is All You Need', is herself known for much heavier fare. The theme of coping with death runs through her work and is again present here, with Brosnan playing a man who becomes angry at the world following his wife's senseless death in a car accident.
That's not to say this is a heavy movie, far from it, but it does contain a level of substance absent from the romantic comedies Hollywood churns out. For a start, our two leads are actually likable and worth rooting for. Dyrholm feels like an everyday middle-aged woman who's been dropped into a rom-com scenario. Brosnan's character is more of a movie archetype but he manages to make the role seem fresh. The Irishman is a very under-rated actor, possibly because he doesn't take himself too seriously, but he possesses a range he rarely receives credit for. In the over-looked 2006 western, 'Seraphim Falls' he delivered a stunning dramatic performance and here he shows just how good his comic timing is.
Apart from a disappointingly predictable ending, 'LIAYN' is a charming rom-com aimed at middle-aged viewers but accessible to all but those too ignorant to read subtitles.
nigeljrwest
April 28, 2013
Definitely a wet Sunday afternoon movie. More intellectually stretching than Mama Mia because you have to read the subtitles. This is a film out of time. Fifteen years ago, it would have had novelty on its side, perhaps not enough to get past Pierce Brosnan's wooden performance. Now it was OK...... but no more.
April 28, 2013
Friends, we will be screening this film, "Love is All You Need" at Cinema Sundays at the Charles on 05/19/13! Share the love!
Munawara S.
April 21, 2013
A sweet lemon :) Lots of danish, a beautiful Italian town and "That's amore". Perfect for a lazy weekend evening.
andres74varela
March 29, 2013
Solo por la mezcla de culturas se le da algo de relevancia a este melodramon aguado y predecible que impresiona por lo malo del guion. Que historia tan melcochuda y llena de cliches.
March 21, 2013
Despite the clichés and the slow pace, it's an enjoyable and tender film about a mature infatuation.
February 8, 2013
As the centre of attention moves from daughter to mother, their respective close-ups swap sizes.
A few of the plot-lines are predictable to say the least but then so is life. If you miss it at the cinema it would make a great wet Sunday movie or even for Valentines...
Charming and very enjoyable. When I saw it a small but noticeable fraction of the audience didn't like it is much.
From the director of A Better World, this romance is a gentle and often funny tale of love lost and found set in the most gorgeous Italian seaside town.
As the centre of attention moves from daughter to mother, their respective close-ups swap sizes.
A few of the plot-lines are predictable to say the least but then so is life. If you miss it at the cinema it would make a great wet Sunday movie or even for Valentines...
Charming and very enjoyable. When I saw it a small but noticeable fraction of the audience didn't like it is much.
ricardo c.
January 25, 2013
great perfomances__that's all my commentary
