Love Actually is definitely horrendous, both as the 2003 film directed by Richard Curtis and as a life experience that few people managed to avoid. In the case of Scud’s 2011 drama, there is also a third, literal interpretation of the title that gets very nicely explained in a wedding video shown right at the start of the movie. The wedding celebration that goes wrong is the set piece where all film’s protagonists, who will later on engage in different sorts of relationships, are gathered. They are shown to us one by one as the narrative goes on.
A middle-aged tai chi instructor (John Tai) develops a crush on one of his significantly younger students who he keeps seeing around. The young man does fetch the fitness trainer, who happens to be a very good painter as well, but thinks he is a bit too ancient for anything serious. At all costs seeking love the trainer and his crush are just two among many other characters.
There are looming marble arses than are in ‘Love Actually Sucks!’. The frames of a naked body which we are used to seeing in Scud’s films are placed in another kind of context that attempts to explore the right to love and the frames of a sexual relationship. Murderer, Stalker, rapist, incestuous self-whore battered and lost in a self closet. It’s all there in an elaborate tale that interweaves multiple destinies.
Scud’s approach towards sexuality deviates from the other authors who utilize soft pornography merely to elicit sexual responses from their audience. For his movies, he does not rely on glamourized cosmetics or overly exaggerated ‘hot’ conversations. The spoken dialogue approaches the level of what we say and hear in real life, and what is not spoken is still palpably felt. In Love Actually Sucks, the shame is gone, but the feeling of guilt remains.
However, there is a crime aspect to it, which is perhaps the film’s greatest most poignant warning that obsession, especially without that other person’s feeling involved, can be deeply tragic. We see the first signs of discomfort in the two lovers, and how the woman feels helpless in front of her separated boyfriend’s demands of coming together. He subjects her to terrible revenge after she reports him to the police for rape.
Rotterdam International Film Festival has Shud’s Third Feature on display. On matters of relationships, Scud’s take has always been simple. “Love Actually Sucks!” however, masterfully tells the story about choices, from the heart and out of sheer passion. None of these are normal. The director has mastered the ability to mold a narrative that goes from joyful to disgruntled. This is especially apparent in the first 10 minutes of the feature where love is celebrated only for it to fall into the abyss.
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