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Movies / On DVD / Love the Hard Way
Love the Hard Way

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Love the Hard Way (2003)

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28 %
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Reviews Counted: 43

Fresh: 12

Rotten:31

Average Rating: 4.8/10

Rated: Not Rated

Runtime: 1 hr 44 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:Jun 6, 2003 Limited

Synopsis: Underneath a classic good-girl and street-wise Don Juan romance, LOVE THE HARD WAY reveals itself to be a keen examination of love and emotional dependency amidst the social divergences and... Underneath a classic good-girl and street-wise Don Juan romance, LOVE THE HARD WAY reveals itself to be a keen examination of love and emotional dependency amidst the social divergences and congruent rhythms of New York City. LOVE THE HARD WAY begins when Claire (Charlotte Ayanna), a goal-oriented graduate student, meets Jack (Adrien Brody). At the same time unimpressed and intrigued by his bad-boy persona, Claire eventually agrees to meet him. Attraction quickly turns into infatuation and love. In contradiction with Claire's valedictorian past, Jack runs a regular scam conning foreign businessmen with his partner Charlie (Jon Seda) and two struggling actresses. But Jack's self-conscious rebel stance is much more than a façade, it stems from the books he avidly reads and it ultimately replicates a passion with life which he seems to lack in his daily engagement with life. Even though Jack is thoroughly charmed by Claire's acute intellect, he pushes her away, just like he did with previous partners. Abandoned and traumatized, Claire begins to neglect her studies and throws herself into a self-destructive downward spiral. As Detective Linda Fox (Pam Grier) efforts to expose Jack and Charlie's scam intensifies, the once self-assured Jack finds his world crumbling. -- © Kino International [More]

Starring: Adrien Brody, Charlotte Ayanna, Jon Seda, Pam Grier

Starring: Adrien Brody, Charlotte Ayanna, Jon Seda, Pam Grier, August Diehl

Director: Peter Sehr

Director: Peter Sehr
Screenwriter: Marie Noelle, Peter Sehr
Producer: Wolfram Tichy, Peter Sehr
Studio: Kino International

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Release:

Oct 28, 2003

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Reviews for Love the Hard Way

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Geoff Andrew
Time Out

No review available.

comment Comment
10/16/05
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boston Herald | comment Comment
07/16/05
Paul Sherman
Boston Herald

To say the love story was hard to believe, is putting it mildly--it was impossible to fathom.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
08/15/04
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Feels like it was crafted by an outsider, with the cliche-filled dialogue reading like a rough translation.

Full Review Source: Detroit Free Press | comment Comment
09/20/03
John Monaghan
Detroit Free Press
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

One of those films where great acting and occasionally brilliant dialogue attempt to overcome an unbelievable plot and a cowardly Hollywood ending.

Full Review Source: Arizona Republic | comment Comment
09/12/03
Richard Nilsen
Arizona Republic
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | comment Comment
08/08/03
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

The biggest flaw in Love the Hard Way is its total inability to coherently convey the passage of time.

Full Review Source: New Times | comment Comment
08/06/03
Luke Y. Thompson
New Times

Brody pulls the juggling act off -- bringing to mind some riveting cinematic misfits before him, from Brando to McQueen to Pacino.

Full Review Source: Seattle Times | comment Comment
08/01/03
Misha Berson
Seattle Times

There must be some reason to worry over the fate of these people, but it's not in the movie.

Full Review Source: Denver Post | comment Comment
07/25/03
Michael Booth
Denver Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Heartfelt but fatally overwrought romantic melodrama.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
07/11/03
Ty Burr
Boston Globe
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Though the lanky, dreamy-eyed Brody shows range, he's got a dorky quality that's hard to dismiss -- his strutting his stuff sends eyes rolling.

Full Review Source: Oregonian | comment Comment
07/10/03
Kim Morgan
Oregonian

Brody has offbeat charisma, but it's no match for the corny dialogue he's given here, not to mention the Wild at Heart snakeskin jacket he wears.

Full Review Source: Christian Science Monitor | comment Comment
07/10/03
David Sterritt
Christian Science Monitor

"Love the Hard Way" looks low budget and any box office will be made from those interested in seeing Brody in his post “Pianist” role...

Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
07/09/03
Robin Clifford
Reeling Reviews

As character studies of Jack and Claire, it is daring and inventive, and worthy of comparison with the films of a French master of criminal psychology like Jean-Pierre Melville.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
06/27/03
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A dark, uneven character study.

Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | comment Comment
06/27/03
Robert K. Elder
Chicago Tribune
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

so damn weird in refusing to go where one expects that it maintains interest - too bad it missed a chance at last minute redemption with a satisfying conclusion

Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
06/26/03
Laura Clifford
Reeling Reviews

Brody creates exactly the taunting demi-monster who could inveigle Claire.

Full Review Source: New Republic | comment Comment
06/25/03
Stanley Kauffmann
New Republic
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It's a mostly clichéd story about a good girl who falls for a bad boy and believes that their love is strong enough to make him change his ways. When has that ever worked -- in real life or the movies?

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
06/22/03
Marjorie Baumgarten
Austin Chronicle

Annoying as it is in some ways, is worth seeing for Brody's performance alone.

Full Review Source: San Diego Metropolitan | comment Comment
06/21/03
Jean Lowerison
San Diego Metropolitan
 
 
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