On DVD: Love

Directed by Vladin Nikolic

Starring Sergej Trifunovic, Geno Lecher, and Peter Gevisser

Writer/director Vladin Nikolic’s 2005 film Love is a contemplative thriller--which is kind of oxymoronic--worth watching. In New York, Serbian hit man Vanya Nevakovich (Sergej Trifunovic), his ex-girlfriend Anna Petrovic (Geno Lecher), and Anna’s cop boyfriend Dirk Malloy (Peter Gevisser) become inextricably involved in a crime scene that brings them all together and headed toward one final climactic scene of destined doom. In a race to find answers and avoid certain death, old flames are rehashed and old and new love is tested to the very end.

The Movie

Love opens quietly enough in a park. While feeling each other up, a man and a woman with striking red hair walk to a tree where they begin heavy petting. Soon, the red head is on her knees when a bullet pierces the man’s forehead, causing blood to spurt out on the woman’s face. Instead of running in fear, the woman wipes off her face and goes on about her business. We soon learn this has been another hit by Vanya, who is by now struggling with the moral dilemma of killing, evinced by his game of Russian roulette while fingering rosary beads.

Vanya is soon put on another job to buy some cocaine from Mr. Ramirez, who has come to a hotel to make the transaction. Vanya arrives on the scene to find Ramirez has been shot. Do not expect a linear plot from this point forward. Nikolic brilliantly weaves various chronologies from other characters points of view into the narrative, creating a cohesive story fleshed out by getting bits and pieces one character at a time.

Vanya’s fatalistic entry to the hotel leads him back to his former lover Anna. A physician, she has been dropped off by Dirk at the hotel to treat a gypsy patient. A bell hop soon interrupts her to take her to the ninth floor where there is an alleged heart attack. Soon Anna finds herself face to face with Vanya standing over a dead body.

Dirk Malloy comes into the story as Anna’s boyfriend. That he happens to be a cop makes him and the story more interesting as the ethical side of being NYPD becomes tested by his love for Anna. After Dirk drops Anna off, he notices two suspicious men

run out of the hotel and speed off down the street. Dirk’s cop instinct leads him to smell out a crime scene. Although he wishes to function in a cop capacity to find Anna, who is now believed to have been kidnapped by Vanya, a federal agent trumps Dirk’s authority. Dirk is left to his own resources to track down Anna. Passion soon leads all three to become entwined in a crime that will test them.

Love could seem like a detective movie from plot synopsis. Yet, this film is mostly about destructive jealousy, true love, violence, and the entanglements of a criminal existence. The plot of Love is framed around suspense and crime, which soon becomes the breeding ground for asking how Love and violence are related. Although this is easily a suspense/thriller type of film, Nikolic quiets the thrill just enough to allow the depths of human motivation to show a little.

Nikolic’s style works well. He ties the various narratives together with a narrator. His main characters are immediately complex, dark, and depressive. The only person who seems the most excited about life is a cross dresser, who gives Vanya his treatise on love. Also, Nikolic has a flare for capturing the essence of deadened romance and juxtaposing it to a love of more depth.

Love is a solid film and well worth watching if you like a film about the depths of love and passionate violence.

7/10

The Video

Presented in full screen format, the video has the feel of made-for-TV movie at times. The quality is good, but it doesn’t look like a movie made for the cinema. The cinematography though is creative at moments throughout the film, so there was some definite professionalism involved that make the video quality better than the status quo.

7/10

The Audio

The sound is presented in Dolby Digital. It is quieter film; however, there are some explosive musical selections and one scene involving a harmonica that might make you turn the volume down a little.

7/10

The Packaging and Bonus Features

The DVD release of Love comes in a standard aramay case with a good choice of scene shots from the film artfully patched together for cover art.

The DVD also has a Making Of Featurette that is informative.

All things considered, while the bonus features would never be described as plentiful, the one that is offered is enjoyable.

5/10

Overall (Not an Average) 7/10

The Movie 7/10

The Video 7/10

The Audio 7/10

The Packaging and Bonus Features 5/10

Overall (Not an Average) 7/10