Synopsis
Curmudgeonly author Giles De'Ath, a widower with a marked distaste for modern popular culture, attempts to buy a ticket for a film adaptation of an E.M. Forster novel, but instead finds himself watching a tacky teen sex comedy. Yet when the beautiful Ronnie Bostock appears on the movie screen, Giles finds himself caught in a whirlwind of unanswered questions about both his own sexuality and his place in late 20th-century society.
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Cast
- John HurtGiles De'Ath
- Jason PriestleyRonnie Bostock
- Fiona LoewiAudrey
- Sheila HancockMrs. Barker
- Harvey AtkinLou
- Maury ChaykinIrving Buckmuller
- Gawn GraingerHenry
- Elizabeth QuinnMrs. Reed
- Linda BusbyMrs. Abbott
- Bill LeadbitterEldridge
Recommendations
- 100
Entertainment Weekly
A highly original Death in Venice-scented comedy drama written and directed with flair by British feature novice Richard Kwietniowski. - 90
Chicago Reader
A witty, canny meditation on the power of pop culture in general and the rationalizations of cinephilia and film criticism in particular. - 90
Los Angeles Times
Love and Death on Long Island is sharp, sophisticated and completely delicious, a purposeful comedy that focuses on the power of screen images to uproot lives and the poignancy of amour fou, totally mad love. - 90
New York Magazine (Vulture)
Writer-director Richard Kwietniowski has never made a feature before, but this debut effort is a triumph, a buoyant and elegant achievement -- romantic and ruminative yet always precise, a comedy of longing propelled by a strong current of satirical observation. - 88
Chicago Sun-Times
These opening scenes of Love and Death on Long Island are funny and touching, and Hurt brings a dignity to Giles De'Ath that transcends any snickering amusement at his infatuation. - 80
The New York Times
John Hurt is simply wonderful -- acerbic, funny and heartbreaking. - 78
Austin Chronicle
The height of drollery, a cheeky ode to the liberating power of popular culture, and a fascinating look at an old dog learning some new tricks. - 75
ReelViews
Despite the many laughs Love and Death offers, it never takes cheap shots. It has a vibrant, beating heart - and that makes the comedy all the more worthwhile.
