love (2011)

Directed by: William Eubank | 81 minutes | drama, science fiction | Actors: Gunner Wright, Corey Richardson, Bradley Horne, Nancy Stelle, Roger E. Fanter, Jesse Hotchkiss, Troy Mittleider, Brid Caveney, Ambyr Childers, B. Anthony Cohen, James C. Burns, Lee Bettencourt, Mark Eaton, Brian Vanik, Dan Figur, Jessica Rizo, Allison Curtis, Rachel Rosenstein, Mara LaFontaine

In the tradition of many intelligent science fiction films, screenwriter and director William Eubank made ‘Love’ perhaps not the timeless epic he had hoped for, but above all an ode to humanity. Well conceived and extremely intriguing, but the film does not reach the level of the masters of the genre.

The decoration of ‘Love’ – a lifelike space station, special for a film with such a limited budget – does not matter, and actor Gunner Wright (known for ‘J. Edgar’) also puts on a strong one-man show as astronaut Lee Miller who maintains a one-man space station until contact with the control center on Earth is suddenly broken and he learns the hard lesson that every being needs contact.

So far, the plot is enough for frightened looks and an astronaut who slowly wanders into his own mind. But then comes the well-known case of hallucinations and visions, and times and realities begin to intertwine. Although Eubank manages to make ends meet afterwards, it’s a shame he didn’t take the time to emphasize the loneliness of astronaut Lee. Now the hallucinations set in so quickly, mixed with interviews of people talking about humanity and a tricky – but rewarding – storyline about the American Civil War, that the central fact is almost lost.

In the last ten minutes ‘Love’ is saved, but the idea could have worked better at times. Plot, music – from the American band Angels & Airwaves – and visual effects are very good, so it’s a shame that the film doesn’t captivate its full time – just under 81 minutes. Eubank isn’t Kubrick or Tartovsky yet, and Love doesn’t want to be as oppressive as Moon, that other film about loneliness on a space station, but he nevertheless impressed with this quasi-philosophical sci-fi work full of guts.