Love or Lust
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Written by: Simon Boisvert | Directed by: Christian Parenteau | Genre: Romance | Length: 76 minutes |
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“Since this film deals with realities more than romantic fantasies, an older audience would far more appreciate the details of this film. |
| Middle aged man Mark (Simon Boisvert) finds himself a bachelor once again. When his much younger girlfriend of 7 years, Steph (Jillian Harris) dumps him to pursue a life of someone her own age, Mark finds himself back in the arms of an old flame. Julie (Isabelle Moreau) is more in line emotionally with what he needs from a woman. The age gap problem is no longer an issue. As the 2 begin their romance, a second time, we’re led on to believe this could be it for Mark. The woman he’s meant to be with, and maybe she is. But Mark falters and lets jealousy back into the mix and eventually, makes a huge mistake that could cost him everything. Love Or Lust is a romantic film for the rest of us. One that reminds us that nobody is the perfect person and that we all must pay for our mistakes. Sooner or later. Calling this film a romance could maybe be considered misleading. There is romance involved, and some touching, definitely romance driven scenes; but this isn’t truly a romance film. I can’t reveal why without spoiling the movie, but a classification leaning more towards a drama would be more accurate. What this title does well is demonstrate how imperfect we all are. There really is no hero here except maybe Julie. As a matter of fact? The atmosphere of this title favors the bad guy if nothing else but even then, nobody is truly bad. The character of Mark really isn’t all that likable. He comes across as self centered and quite arrogant most of the time. Not all the time. There is enough scenes of him being likable and even sincere. Especially during the courting period of him and Julie. What’s interesting to think about is that even though I wrote he’s not the most lovable guy, he is real and believable. Boisvert hasn’t created a cookie cutter male lead who can do no wrong. Maybe he’s not always likable because he mirrors a real man. Far from perfect.
Steph and Julie are also realistic in the sense they play their roles respectively. Steph really is a young woman. It’s hard to look at her as the evil catalyst when in fact, she just wants what most young woman want. To live their lives and have some fun. A line in the film rang very true – Mark could offer her things she couldn’t financially get. For most young woman with all their lives ahead of them, why not give it a spin for a while? She does do some shitty things in the film, both at the start and at the very end, but is that really unrealistic? Not at all. Julie is the most rounded character, and probably features the biggest moral compass. Successful and already done her crazy life shenanigans – she was the most relatable and likable character in this film. Love Or Lust also looks good. Not every shot is perfect, but you’ll definitely appreciate the effort that went into the production. What I appreciated most is that it doesn’t come across as over produced, nor does it come across as extremely low budget. This title sits in the middle and that adds a certain charm to the production. One thing I did notice, especially at the start of this title, was that it came across as a rant against youth. Along the same lines as my grandfather telling me he walked 30 miles in a snowstorm to get to school. Love Or Lust went a few steps further and really did come across as a showpiece for the fall of today’s youth. I think it was to solidify the age gap between Mark and Steph but it was a little much for me. And not needed at all. I could clearly see the age gap simply by looking at my screen. Would I recommend this title? Yes, to an older audience. Since this film deals with realities more than romantic fantasies, an older audience would far more appreciate the details of the film. They would also appreciate the not so happy scenario this title shows us. Did I enjoy it personally? I did and give it a thumbs up. Find this title online |
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