"Death In Love" Review - Written By Mathius Mack Gertz

Title: Death in Love
Review Date: January, 2010
Year: 2008
Director: Boaz Yakin
Starring:
Morena Baccarin
Emma Bell ... Young Girl
Jacqueline Bisset ... Mother
Jean Brassard ... Young Girl's Father
Adam Brody ... Talent Agent
Fabrizia Dal Farra ... Concentration Camp Woman
Francis Dumaurier ... Old Lawyer
Seth Fisher ... Hotel Receptionist
Kelli Giddish ... Young Mother
Lukas Haas ... Youngest Son
Laura Holloway ... Woman #1
Jamie Hurley ... Woman Tending Child
Vanessa Kai ... Asian Woman
Josh Lucas ... Eldest Son
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Distributor: Screen Media films
Running time: 97 minutes
Official Website: http://www.deathinlovethefilm.com/

A family’s dangerous legacy unravels as a mother’s desperate concentration camp choices haunt the lives and loves of her and her sons. In 1990’s New York City, her eldest son, (Josh Lucas) finds a way out of his tailspin of one night stands, violent sexual encounters and scams when he befriends a charming co-worker (Adam Brody, while his brother (Lucas Hass) struggles in a compulsive, co-dependent relationship with their mother (Jacqueline Bissett). Meanwhile, the love from the mothers past has come for her; with chilling consequences for all parties.

DEATH IN LOVE is a guilty pleasure. It has excellent writing and directing by Boaz Yakin and remarkable acting from a terrific cast with a tour de force performance from Jacqueline Bissett and Josh Lucas. The production values are also excellent as well as the editing by John F Lyons and a well integrated score by Lesley Barber. It is like a bag of potato chips, you cannot put it down once you open it up.

Using World War II concentration camp decisions as the foundation for the story, you are equally repulsed and attracted to these characters. But the redeeming quality of DEATH IN LOVE is that it is believable. Terribly believable. The emotional pain of a man portrayed by Josh Lucas throughout the story is one of the most mesmerizing performances I have ever seen. I have seen it portrayed in a scene, never so consistently for an entire film.

In addition, DEATH IN LOVE is sexy and sensual as it is painful. It is almost a horror film but is saved from that genre by the high level of its production value on all points.
I highly recommend it but caution you that it will take you on an emotional roller coaster that while not for the faint of heart, will definitely give you much to talk about.

Review Rating: FIVE STARS