Life Itself: There is Love

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A movie goes for broke and holds nothing back, and pulls it off.

This one got me. I stumbled across it by mistake. I thought it was going to be Roger Ebert's life story as his was apparently named the same. I like going to movies at the theatre that I know nothing about; it's so much more fun that way to discover things as they unfold rather than already knowing from the trailer. That couldn't be more true here.

Even the actors were unknown to me -- that is, I had seen them before but I didn't know they'd be in this movie -- so it was fun to discover them. Banderas literally popped me when he appeared on screen. And the (first) lead is, I think, the guy from a movie about a cyborg where he was totally opposite and unemotional by comparison.

There's something truly wonderful about movies that go all in. This one has such a big heart that it begs to be mocked or demeaned but it goes on and keeps turning and interweaving and goes on some more.

The acting is all top notch; I was actually bemused to see how in one instance two of the characters manage to NOT have chemistry (which is what was called for in the scene) and yet still ride the line of being in a believable relationship of that type (the type where you're dating someone just to be dating someone).

Highly recommend, particularly if your walls are down or you're willing to bring them down.

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