Review of Love And Human Remains

Introduction

Denys Arcand`s 1993 movie about love and meaning in an anonymous fin-de-twentieth-siecle Canadian city has been described as a "dark comedy" - which I take to mean completely absent of humour. Dreary in look and dreary in spirit, the movie charts the lives of David and Candy, roommates (and ex-lovers). David is a gay ex-actor waiting tables. Candy is a book reviewer and both their lives are complicated by the oddballs who populate their social lives. Just in case things get too hilarious, there`s a serial killer mixed into the proceedings as a metaphor for AIDS/HIV.

I honestly couldn`t get my head round the fact that David was played by Thomas Gibson, who nine years later would co-star with Jenna Elfman in the fluffy sitcom Dharma and Greg playing the male half of the double act. The character of David and the tone of the movie is about as far removed as you can get from Dharma and Greg, and only goes to prove the potential barrier to an acting career that a role in a successful tv series can potentially be. If he had made Dharma and Greg first, I suspect he might not have got the role in this movie, as his roles since might indicate. Ruth Marshall (Candy) has only clocked up a dozen appearances, mostly on television, since making Love and Human Remains.

The movie is based on Brad Fraser`s play Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love, which won him the Most Promising New Playwright award at the 1993 London Evening Standard Theatre Awards. Fraser also story-edited the US version of Queer as Folk. See a theme forming there? Denys Arcand, the Canadian director whose Jesus Of Montreal has just been released in Special Edition, helmed.

Video

In spite of only being thirteen years since the movie was made, it has dated badly. Part of the problem is the grainy, 1980s-looking stock the movie was shot on. Although the IMDb details for the movie specify 35mm and an aspect ratio of 1.85:1, I`d wonder if it hadn`t been shot in 16mm and blown up. The transfer presented here is a poor 4:3 fullscreen one.

Audio

Similarly the sound is nothing to write home about. A Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo soundtrack is presented that is harsh and unimpressive.

Features

The extras for the disc are non existent. No subtitles, no nothing.

Conclusion

Arthouse fiends might get a kick out of this 1993 Denys Arcand drama. Written with an eye for sharp dialogue by Brad Fraser, there`s little drive to the narrative but tons of character development. The slow pace and the characterisations make this movie an acquired taste, which unfortunately I didn`t get. Your mileage might vary.