There is much to be admired here including some of the cinematography and the way the actions of the couples and their extra marital affairs are entwined but although tension does finally begin to build up out in the woods and particularly when involving the deserted buildings. we have had a long wait. I feel that the director needed and managed to acquire much support for this venture but possibly lacked having someone around to suggest some trimming. This is longer than it need be and could have been tightened seemingly quite easily without any effective loss to the story or its power. There is considerable power here and a devastating picture of lovelessness is all around. There seems to be more than an element of misogyny here with the wives and mothers clearly being cast as the baddies and how much that is a reflection of Russian society or the director's feelings is hard to tell after only having seen the one film. But the open displays of disgust by mother and grandmother for the child and seeming use of pregnancy as manipulation are disturbing. Lots of interesting things going on within this very harsh and pessimistic film. The radio broadcast towards the end informing of the ongoing battle with Ukraine seems a little forced and whilst it is possible this venture is making domestic life more difficult and that the director wishes to make this point, it is not very convincing. If he wants to make a larger point about the government's priorities for its people then again, there is not enough clarity. The chatter about war is indeed made to seem even less relevant with the final shots, echoing the film's opening, with ambiguous shots above the deserted lake and the fluttering streamer.
Review of Loveless
