by rick grant rickgrant01@comcast.net
B+ Rated R 102 min
Robert Benton’s film, Feast of Love, based on a book by Charles Baxter, asks the question–Is love a basic human need, or is it nature’s way of insuring procreation? This is the concept of the scenario--an examination of our deep need for love that transcends all other aspects of our lives. Allison Burnett’s screenplay and Benton’s unpretentious filmmaking style created a scintillating drama surrounding a group of characters living in Portland, Oregon. Its lumbering pace requires some patience by viewers, but it’s worth investing the time. Burnett’s script allows the characters play out the love theme without gushing sentimentality–a remarkable achievement.
Baxter’s central theme underscores why love conquers all, even if it causes unbearable emotional pain. Burnett’s script delves deeply into how lives are adversley affected by failed relationships and how love can happen when we least expect it–even when the love-struck person is in a relationship with someone else.
Viewers can hear the Beatles signing, “All you need is love,” in their heads as this exploration of love plays out. Morgan Freeman plays Harry Stevenson, a college professor and wise sage of the group of characters. Greg Kinnear portrays unlucky-in-love, Bradley Thomas, who owns a coffee shop called Jitters, where Harry holds court with his daily cup of joe. Harry ruminates on love as he takes long walks speaking to the viewer of how the Greek God’s invented love as a cure for boredom–an oversimplification of this crushing force. Meanwhile, Bradley is living his life thinking that his wife Kathryn (Selma Blair) is in love with him, but as she says, he doesn’t really see her for who she really is. He doesn’t even know the color of her eyes. When she falls in love at first sight with another woman right under Bradley’s nose, he’s oblivious to her lesbian sexual orientation. Wake up and smell your own coffee, chump!
This realistic notion of being trapped in an unfulfilling relationship and suddenly falling in love with someone else is played out with the other characters, who go through at least one relationship before they find their soul-mate. Of course, Freeman’s character Harry is the voice of the author who spun a web of intrigue to make his points. All the while, there are surprises, but the story follows a predictable path. Just as insecure Bradley rushed into another relationship, the author asks the question, is his need greater than anyone else’s? In other words, Baxter is saying that love is a basic human need that gives us life–without it we are shells of ourselves, adrift in a sea of uncertainty and loneliness.
Viewing this film will stimulate debate and serious conversation between people who question whether their partner is really the love of their lives. The scenario suggests that yes, it may take one, two, or more relationships before one finds that cosmic love which leaves no doubt that one has found his or her life-partner. But like Kathryn in the story, it can happen without warning at an inconvenient time when it may cause major complications in one’s life.
Benton’s film clearly condensed the book into a manageable 102 min. The way the characters interact gives impetus to the author’s premise that love is a basic human need we all crave like food. Yes, people get hurt but the other alternative for a partner living a lie can be many years of unhappiness. The author is saying it’s better to find the one person that fulfills all one’s deep emotional and physical needs even if it means a serious disruption in one’s life.
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EU Critic’s Choice Awards
