Love Is Strange

Love Is Strange is a touching romantic drama film that was released in 2014, wonderfully directed by Ira Sachs. The film boasts a talented lineup featuring well-regarded talents like John Lithgow, Alfred Molina and Marisa Tomei. It beautifully parades a blend of emotions, including love, companionship, longing, despair, and optimism, spun around the central theme of enduring love and the societal snug-fit around it.

John Lithgow and Alfred Molina masterfully play the lead characters George and Ben, respectively. Their relationship and profound love for each other are at the heart of the storyline. The narrative explores their life in depth, after 39 long years of living together in love and companionship as a same-sex couple in New York City. They finally decide to tie the knot to celebrate their bond officially, indicating their love has been and will always remain infallible. With a shared love for music and art, George and Ben embody a sweet, lived-in couple who have weathered many a storm together.

However, the after-effects of their wedding bring some unforeseen consequences. George, who works as a music teacher in a Catholic school, loses his job owing to the church's disapproval of his homosexual marriage. The sudden loss of a steady income source forces the couple to sell their apartment, and with their modest pensions and unaffordable rent in New York, they cannot afford a new place together. These unforeseen circumstances have George and Ben confronting societal prejudices and day-to-day difficulties.

Without house and job, George and Ben are forced to live separately. The once inseparable couple now has to depend on the kindness of their friends and family. George moves in with two gay police officers, while Ben lands up at his nephew's place, sharing a bunk bed with his young grandnephew. The situation exacerbates for them and those around them as their lifelong companionship begins to affect the dynamics of the families and households they are living in.

Their lives are portrayed beautifully in Love Is Strange, painting a spectrum of raw emotions. It is not just about the struggles of separation, but an exploration into how their moralistic struggle disrupts the dynamics of the households they are forced to live in. The film uses these complexities to underpin the profound love between George and Ben, which becomes even more palpable and palpitated in their separation.

The performances by the lead actors John Lithgow and Alfred Molina are captivating. Their on-screen chemistry is compelling and reflects the decades of companionship and love between George and Ben. Marisa Tomei, who plays the role of Kate (Ben's nephew’s wife), does an excellent job bringing to the surface the subtle ramifications and disturbances from the unexpected houseguest.

Love Is Strange offers nuanced depictions of relationships and the societal challenges that confront them. It delicately tackles the subject of same-sex marriage, not as a controversial issue, but simply as a matter of love and companionship. The film also questions traditional norms and expectations around family and society, pushing the audience to rethink and challenge these views.

As the narrative progresses, Love Is Strange beautifully explores the theme of age, love, and companionship. It's a gentle solicitation to the tormenting sophistications that our society attaches to love and how it affects the lives of the ones involved and people around them. The film will make you laugh and weep and would strongly entice you to embrace the differences and fluidity in human relationships.

The film's background score enhances the overall emotional experience, creating a seamless orchestrated canvas for the story to unfold. Love is Strange's beautiful portrayal of love that happens to be between two men and mature love that is so rarely depicted on screen is refreshing and endearing.

As a profound analysis of love and its societal treatment, Love Is Strange elevates itself from traditional romantic dramas. It encourages viewers to look beyond the societal conception of love and relationships, and to appreciate the simplicity of profound, unbounded love. Charismatic performances, engaging narrative, and sensitive direction make Love is Strange a must-watch masterpiece in cinematic art.