Love and Death on Long Island (1998) 3 1/2 stars out of 4. Starring John Hurt and Jason Priestley.
Love and Death on Long Island sounds like the title of a Woody Allen movie.
Instead, it's a story of one man's journey to self-discovery through the liberating powers of popular culture.
Giles De'Ath is an uptight, isolated English writer ill at-ease with the 20th century and most of its advances, especially those electronic.
For the first time in almost 20 years, Giles decides to see a movie, an adaptation of an E.M. Forster novel, or so he thinks. He accidentally buys a ticket for Hotpants College 2, a mindless American comedy. And it is the experience of watching this film and its teen-age star, Ronnie Bostock, that changes Giles' life.
Giles becomes obsessed with Ronnie and begins, furtively, acting like a hot-blooded teeny-bopper. He buys all the teen-age fan magazines and learns everything there is to know about the young actor.
He then takes the bizarre step of catching a trans-Atlantic flight to New York to somehow connive to meet Ronnie, who lives in the small, secluded town of Chesterton on Long Island.
When the two do connect, it changes both their lives.
As Giles, John Hurt has latched onto his best role in years. His Giles is priggish, a bit snobbish and uncomfortable with contemporary society. He is clueless about and suspicious of technology. Only after he sees Ronnie's movie does he tentatively crawl into the modern age.
Hurt's performance is a wake-up call to how fine an actor he is. Hurt has not had such a meaty role since The Elephant Man. His characterization is full of inspired touches. The scene in an electronics store where he mistakes a microwave oven for a VCR is only topped by his incomprehension after purchasing a videocasette player and realizing he also needs a television to make it work.
His encounter with a video store clerk also has a deft comic feel, as he learns about rentals and pizza coupons.
Jason Priestley is a bit dense, yet likable as Ronnie. He is flattered by the attention of the famous writer from England, not comprehending everything Giles is trying to communicate to him, but knowing enough to listen.
First-time director Richard Kwietniowski, whose screenplay is based on a novel by Gilbert Adair, has blended comedy, obsession and a bit of pathos to offer a winning movie.
This is not a film for the frivolous filmgoer. The movie is slow, with lots of talk and not much action. It's a character study, a look at a man dealing with an identity crisis and coming to terms with it.
If you can be patient, you will appreciate Love and Death on Long Island.
Bob Bloom is the film critic at the Journal and Courier in Lafayette, Ind. He can be reached by e-mail at bloom@journal-courier.com or cbloom@iquest.net
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