PS - love at the beginning

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Movie
German title PS - love at the beginning
Original title PS
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 2004
length 96 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Dylan Kidd
script Dylan Kidd
production Anne Chaisson ,
John Hart ,
Robert Kessel ,
Jeff Sharp
music Craig Wedren
camera Joaquín Baca-Asay
cut Kate Sanford
occupation

PS - Love at the Beginning (PS) is a romantic American comedy film from 2004 . Directed by Dylan Kidd , who also wrote the screenplay based on a novel by Helen Schulman .

action

39-year-old Louise Harrington's life is calm, orderly and empty. Her passion for art led her to the School for The Arts at Columbia University , where she deals with application formalities. One of her few friends (her "only friend", as she says) is her ex-husband Peter, a lecturer in astronomy, with whom she was married for 10 years (six of them, they both agree, were "really good") and to which she now has a completely platonic relationship - a tendency that had already developed in the last few years of marriage. Her best friend Missy Goldberg, wife of the wealthy car salesman Markus and mother of twins, on the other hand, has too much to do with herself and her unfulfilled sex life to be able to address Louise and her problems, especially since she doesn't live nearby. Louise's relationship with her family is also problematic: her brother Sammy, a junkie in therapy who is trying to get his life back on track, she cannot forgive his addiction and the thefts and frauds related to it and is irritated and jealous that her mother can.

The passionless leisurely life of her life is broken on the day Louise comes across an application whose sender (F. Scott Feinstadt) bears almost the same name as Louise's fatal high school sweetheart (Scott Feinstadt). She makes an appointment under a pretext. The initial uncertainty then almost turned into panic when it turned out that the young painter not only had the dead man's name and artistic talent in common, but was also confusingly similar in his appearance, demeanor and expression. The two end up in bed on that first day and start an affair.

But Louise's life is upside down in other ways too: Peter admits to being a sex addict and to having cheated on her incessantly during their marriage. Louise reacts hurt, incomprehensible and finally angry when she learns that Peter has sought advice and help from Sammy of all people. She refuses to talk and throws Peter out. In addition, the - as it gradually turns out - catastrophic relationship between Scott and Louise overshadows the dealings between her and F. Scott. It turns out that Missy Louise had unhitched Scott at the time and that the three of them led a ménage à trois that was unhealthy for all until the accident . Louise never got over the fact that Scott had chosen Missy at the time, so it should come as no surprise that she panics when she incidentally learns during her rendezvous with F. Scott that F. Scott and Missy happened to be on the phone in the meantime to have. At home, Louise F. Scott paces back and forth naked (something that Scott asked Louise to do when he wanted to paint her portrait and, if Missy is to be believed, he asked about Louise made fun of) and then forces him to imagine what his life would be like twenty years later if he had lost his talent and grown fat and had to sell cars for his uncle - a cruelty that is directed less towards the living than rather of the dead, to whom she describes the life of Markus, Missy's husband, and whom she wants to convince that he had decided on the wrong person at the time. Since F. Scott does not know about these connections, he cannot understand this dynamic, but understands that Louise's anger is not directed against himself, but incorrectly believes that Peter is the real target. Despite the miserable beginning, the two spend a loving night together. The following morning, F. Scott disappeared; Louise goes to see her mother and has a nervous breakdown there. In the evening she confronts Sammy; she accuses him of not telling her anything about Peter's addiction to sex and of taking advantage of and stealing from their mothers; however, he makes it clear to her that he has faced his problems. When she sarcastically asks him if he also has some wisdom for her that apparently would have brought Peter so much, he replies: "Find the pattern!" Although Louise initially reacts cynically ("Who shit in your brain?") , she thinks about it and finally comes up with the idea of ​​checking whether Missy could be in town. When she actually found her in a hotel, the two women quarrel, because Missy unconsciously identifies F. Scott with Scott and believes she has a right to the "resurrected". Excited, Louise leaves Missy to explain the whole dilemma to F. Scott, but understandably meets with a subdued reaction.

When Louise returns home alone, Peter is waiting for her there. The two speak out. When F. Scott came to Louise the next morning to clarify the situation, he found Peter there, who had slept on the couch, and misunderstood the situation, especially since Louise presented him with little confidence as a university applicant. Louise sends Peter away and can convince F. Scott that she and Peter have not slept together. F. Scott first informs Louise that his real name is Francis Scott and that his friends call him Fran (this breaks the identity between Fran and Scott). Then he makes clear to her his feelings and the emotional chaos into which Louise's openings from the previous evening have thrown him. Louise, at first touched, becomes suspicious again when she hears that Fran, in desperation, has gone to Missy to discuss Louise with her. When she asks to know what happened during the night, Fran waves him off and leaves. Missy, confronted by Louise with the same question, admits that she tried to seduce Fran - but to no avail, since Fran only has Louise on her mind.

Although things are gradually clearing up like this, Fran and Louise don't meet again until Fran picks up the result of the selection process for the art college. To his surprise, it has been recorded, which, as Louise notes, is entirely due to the quality of his pictures. The film closes with a kiss that is not dispassionate.

Reviews

Roger Ebert wrote in the Chicago Sun-Times of November 19, 2004 that the film was the second film in two weeks, along with Birth , that used reincarnation as a pretext for sinful sex in which a woman had a much younger partner. Both are fascinating because each younger character is seen through the eyes of the audience as well as through the eyes of the older woman.

The lexicon of international films wrote that the film was “a convincingly staged and played romantic comedy that never clarified the fantasy aspect of the story ”, but “focused entirely on fantastic love ”.

Awards

Topher Grace received the National Board of Review Award in 2004 . Laura Linney was nominated for the 2005 Golden Satellite Award ; in 2005 she won an award from the Festival Internacional de Cine de Mar del Plata , while Dylan Kidd received a nomination in the category Best Film at that festival . The film was in 2005 for the price Artios the Casting Society of America nominated.

backgrounds

The film was shot in New York City . The world premiere took place on September 3, 2004 at the Venice International Film Festival as well as at the Telluride Film Festival . On September 13, 2004, the film was shown at the Toronto International Film Festival , which was followed by several other film festivals. The film was shown in selected cinemas in the United States, where it grossed around 175,000 US dollars .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b P.S. - Love at the Beginning in the Lexicon of International FilmsTemplate: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used , accessed December 19, 2007
  2. ^ Film review by Roger Ebert, accessed December 19, 2007
  3. ^ Filming locations for PS, accessed December 19, 2007
  4. ↑ PS release dates , accessed December 19, 2007
  5. ↑ Box office / business for PS, accessed December 19, 2007