A Love Song – Review
81 Minutes, Rated PG
Written and Directed by Max Walker-Silverman
**NOTE: this post will be updated with audio once we actually have the chance to talk about it. Until then, enjoy this brief look at Mark’s thoughts. Stay tuned.**
Synopsis:
Faye is a lone traveler biding her time fishing, birding and stargazing at a rural Colorado campground as she awaits the arrival of Lito, a figure from her past who is navigating his own tentative and nomadic journey across the rugged West. Like the country music that has traditionally channeled the heartbreak and resilience of Americans in search of themselves and others, A Love Song weaves a lyrical and ultimately joyful refrain out of the transformative act of being alone —and reminds us that love can nourish and mystify at any age.
Remember a hundred years ago there was a movie called Nomadland that starred Frances McDormand as an older woman who had suffered great personal loss and was now living a nomadic lifestyle as she tried to rebuild her life?
A Love Song isn’t that movie. (Hang in there, people; you’ll see how this shakes out.)
As much as Nomadland was about McDormand’s Fern, it was also an indictment of the socio-economic world in which she lived. And it was, without a doubt, an incredible movie, a movie we quite enjoyed here at VSMP and one worthy of every single award it won, and then some.
A Love Song is, in my humble opinion, a much more personal and intimate movie than Nomadland. Dale Dickey’s Faye isn’t concerned with the world writ large around her; she’s simply trying to figure out her place in her own small bubble of existence. It is an examination of life, love, regret, second chances, and what a second chance can really bring.
Across its 81-minute runtime, it seems as though Dickey says barely hundred words, but she doesn’t need to. Her performance is in her face, her eyes, her body, her hands, and we feel every bit of what she is feeling.
Whether it’s her uncertainty at waiting at campsite 7 for someone who may or may not actually arrive, or if it’s her matter-of-fact reception of the idea that she’s asked to move her camper so some folks can dig up their dead father and relocate his grave, or the act of spinning the dial on her portable radio and ending up, without fail, on the “right” song for that moment, we feel it all.
When Lito (Wes Studi) finally, almost magically, arrives, we see two damaged and frightened people suddenly turn into uncertain youngsters again as feelings long forgotten rise to the surface, but slowly, hesitantly, like bubbles through the thick mud of time. They share a duet on guitar, a meal, memories of their respective personal losses, and finally, a night together.
It’s a beautiful piece of work and one first-time feature writer/director Max Walker-Silverman should be extremely proud of. He has given two respected yet often overlooked character/supporting actors roles with depth and heft and directed them to two very fine performances.
Dale Dickey, especially, should be on people’s radar come awards season, but don’t count out Studi and Walker-Silverman, either.
A Love Song is an exceptional film, one I can’t recommend enough.
A Love Song is in theaters now and stars Dale Dickey and Wes Studi.
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