10 Certified Fresh 2014 Movies That Nobody Saw

5. Love Is Strange

Palo Alto Emma Roberts
Sony Pictures Classics

Another romance about a couple growing old together, though this one's a touch more big-hearted. Where Le Week-End makes the argument that growing old as a couple is a thing to constantly question and struggle against, Love Is Strange proposes that there's no greater nor simpler experience to be cherished.

As George and Ben, Alfred Molina and John Lithgow put in quietly affecting performances (just where was the awards attention?). Love Is Strange sees this couple - now legally married thanks to New York's recent same-sex marriage legislation - torn apart as they enter their fifth decade together, financial woes leaving them bunking with friends at opposite ends of the city.

But while regular rom-com convention might dictate the temporary separation would put the couple through a strain before they reconcile for the climax, director Ira Sachs only deepens the bond between his two leads. A sudden last-ditch revelation feels like a cheat, but everything else feels more hopeful and less manufactured than a thousand of Hollywood's romantic comedies.

Contributor
Contributor

Lover of film, writer of words, pretentious beyond belief. Thinks Scorsese and Kubrick are the kings of cinema, but PT Anderson and David Fincher are the dashing young princes. Follow Brogan on twitter if you can take shameless self-promotion: @BroganMorris1