I watched this movie last week and am still at a loss how to describe this movie. In good sense, of course. To be frank, I actually lived with the actors in the movie for its entire time. It is such a real and beautiful movie with great acting performances by Annette Benning (Nikki) and Ed Harris (Tom). The initial five minutes or so shows Nikki's reminiscences of the times she spent with her late husband and the deep connection they had to their house where she lives now, all alone - a clever paradigm to show how director Posin masters the art! Then one day she happens to see this strange man (Tom) at the museum she used to roam with her late husband. He is exactly the double of her late husband, shocked, she tries to find out who he is, and finally finds the man is an arts Tutor at a nearby university. She somehow stages an apparently accidental encounter in his classroom, makes a connection, start dating and the rest is just a love affair between a woman and a man. But how Posin tells us the story is very melancholic and truly poetic. Entire movie is filled with close-ups, cleverly reflecting the human emotions in different situations. Truly excellent performances by both Annette and Ed! Annette is a great actress anyway but I saw the best performance of Ed Harris in this movie. I felt some gaps in the story line, particularly as to why Nikki thinks she can always cover up why she loves Tom so dearly. You may wonder why she didn't get honest, if she really wanted Tom to be her lover. But her excellent acting performance overshadows any such flaw. I am so sad to see the movie did hopeless at the Box-office although this is a low budget movie. I only hope people will begin to appreciate rare gems like this movie if they want to enjoy a true cinematic experience.
Review of The Face of Love
