Hateship Loveship (2014)

That was an excellent one.

A different way of telling a story

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

This film, even though it is a slow burn art-house film, really has a lot going for it. The casting is perfect! I never expected to see Guy Pierce as an Americana low life, but he totally pulls it off. Kristen Wiig was perfectly cast in the completely understated role. Sometimes she is drawn inward so much, that you almost wish she had a moment of warmth that was more than just nuance. I wanted her to have a little outward joy on film to help ease some of the difficulty in watching the character trying to cope with herself in the world.But I really loved some of the sweet moments of warmth in the film, however, reserved they happened to be. I was touched by several moments, especially the moments between Hailee Steinfeld and Kristen Wiig.Over all, this movie was my cup of tea, I just wish it had a little more range for Kristen's character to help swing the needle up and down a bit.

I loved this movie but it is clearly for those who like a romantic movie. It is not marginal it is great in that genre. The basic story is very old, that two inadequate people do better together. He is very confused and his own worst enemy and she is going toward the life of a nun. Guy Pearce was better at this in A Slipping Down Life where he was younger and not playing a grotty character. But he is fine. However the movie is about Kristen Wiig and she is fantastic. She plays a some what stunted type character unlike any character you will ever see her play again, who wants very little and is very happy with what she gets. That you identify with her is a sign of great acting.

When it comes to comedians doing dramatic roles, especially after they peak, when it comes to their comedy, it has led to some quality roles. For whether it was Robin Williams, Eddie Murphy, Adam Sandler or Jim Carrey, arguably some of their dramatic roles are better than 90% of their comedy films. Unfortunately though, women haven't really found themselves transitioning as often from being a comedian to going to dramas. Monique did with Precious and Kim Wayans with Pariah, but I would argue it isn't much a norm. Leading to the question: Does Wiig present herself as the next comedian to show dramatic chops, or maybe she should stick to making people laugh?Characters & StoryJohanna's (Kristen Wiig) latest job ends with the old woman dying and then her venturing off to become the nanny to a young girl named Sabitha (Hailee Steinfeld), who lives with her grandpa Mr. McCauley (Nick Nolte). A man she lives with since her dad Ken (Guy Pearce) is a drug addict and killed Mc. McCauley's daughter. So, to protect his granddaughter from such nonsense, and to punish him as well, he has guardianship over Sabitha.Thing is though, he is old and can't keep up with her so that is where Johanna comes in. But with Johanna being plain, and a bit gullible, naturally it leads Sabitha and friend Edith (Sami Gayle) to pick with her. How? Well, they pretend that Ken has a romantic interest in Johanna and for most of the movie that is the main focus. Johanna falling for Ken and him growing accustomed to her.PraiseSomething I liked about this film was everyone was given their own life outside of Johanna's role in it. Sabitha had friends, a love interest, and her own drama; Mr. McCauley had a love interest; and Ken had his drug buddy Chloe (Jennifer Jason Leigh), his motel, and probation officer to worry about. All of which kept them from seeming like their lives stopped and started only when Johanna was around.CriticismAnd the reason I'm glad they were presented with some sense of their own lives is because Wiig plays Johanna as a woman who speaks in monotone, and almost has a horror villain type of personality. Like, when you meet Johanna you almost wonder if by the end of the film there will be blood everywhere, which of course she would clean up, and then she would leave as quietly as she came. For that is how deadpan Wiig plays her. Add in that Johanna isn't interesting in any sense of the word, and it makes the lead damn near feel like a liability.Though the story, as a whole, isn't really appealing to compensate mind you. For while there are mentions of what happened to Ken's ex- wife, some tidbits about Ken's sort of girlfriend Chloe, and we get little story tidbits about Mr. McCauley and Sabitha, often it feels like the story is rather aimless. Yes, there is a beginning, in which Johanna shows up to Mr. McCauley's house; a middle, when Johanna falls in love with Ken; and an end, in which those two find themselves in a relationship; but, once all is said and done, it is hard to say you were really given a reason to care about anyone for no one seemed to really evolve. Take for example Ken's drug addiction, we don't see him go through withdraw and all that, or really heal his relationship with Sabitha or Mr. McCauley, it is just Johanna stepping in, telling him he should stop due to her getting pregnant, and then we time jump and it seems he is now the type of guy he should have always been. Making it so the one meaty part of the movie, which could have brought some type of interest, gets cut.Overall: Skip ItLike The Prince, something about this movie just feels lazy. Almost as if there was an interesting story which could have been told, but something led to the writers telling you the most basic of stories just so that they could fit the movie into the schedules of all the actors involved. Leading to why I'm saying to skip this film. For while there isn't anything necessarily wrong with it, unless you are picky, it just is boring to the point where it doesn't provide you anything besides good background noise for a nap.

"Dying is easy," so they say. "It's comedy that's hard." That's why it's always so thrilling to see comedians stretch their wings a little and try a little bit of dramatic acting for a change - frequently, their performances are all the more affecting because they're acutely aware of the fineness of the line that exists between comedy and tragedy. Kristen Wiig, of Saturday Night Live and Bridesmaids fame, proves this to be true with her first stab at the almost purely dramatic in Hateship Loveship, although she's ultimately let down by an overly wooden script and character.Johanna (Wiig) is a caregiver who leads a nomadic existence, packing up what little there is of her life to move into whichever household requires her services next. When she arrives at the McCauley home, she meets the motherless Sabitha (Hailee Steinfeld) and her alcoholic, undependable father Ken (Guy Pearce). Wilfully bristling at the new addition to the family, Sabitha plots with her best friend Edith (Sami Gayle) to play a practical joke on Johanna: they craft a letter of clear amorous intent from Ken in response to Johanna's simple thank-you note.It's a situation that could easily be played for comedy or for tragedy: the misunderstanding created by the two girls blossoms into a one-sided love affair for Johanna, so good at cleaning up people's lives but so inexperienced at living her own. Hateship Loveship settles for an uncomfortable mix of the two, often trading awkward, neo-farcical humour for genuine insight into Johanna's psyche. When Johanna decides to commit fully to her 'relationship' with Ken, the film stumbles into almost horrifying territory. It's difficult to know just how to respond to Johanna's predicament and Ken's understandably shocked reaction to her arrival in his life, just as it's tough to really buy into the way their relationship develops thereafter.For the most part, the clumsiness of the film has little to do with its cast. Wiig bravely underplays her part, hinting at rather than telegraphing Johanna's soul-deep loneliness and craving for a family of her own. It's unfortunate that her character takes on a near-robotic cast so early on in the film. Pearce manages to be both charming and off-putting as Ken, while Nick Nolte makes his mark on the film as Sabitha's caring but clueless grandfather. Steinfeld, while perfectly fine in her part, is largely upstaged by the chirpy meanness evinced by Gayle - who, unfortunately, is also let down by the fact that Edith is almost purely the villain here, and bears none of the subtle characterisation she enjoys in Alice Munro's original short story.Taking a step back from the film, its themes and intent become more readily apparent: families can be forged, just as relationships and love can, out of hate, resentment and misunderstanding. But, buried beneath a few extraneous subplots and some really patchy writing and character development, it never entirely comes clear when you're actually watching Hateship Loveship. Fittingly for a film that isn't quite sure what it wants to be, it's tough to know whether one should laugh or cry in response.