79. Loveless (Nelyubov); movie review

LOVELESS (NELYUBOV)
Cert 15
122 mins
BBFC advice: Contains strong language, sex nudity

Anyone who watches or reads daily news reports will have become anaesthetised to the appalling behaviour of some parents towards their children.
As Andrey Zvyagintsev's Loveless suggests, society's selfishness has stretched to mother and fathers putting themselves before their sons and daughters.
Therefore, his film may be fiction but its storyline rings very true.
Its premise surrounds the chief characters, Zhenya (Maryana Spivak) and Boris (Aleksey Rozin), who are going through a vicious divorce marked by resentment, frustration and recriminations. 
At the opening of the movie, they are already beginning new lives with new loves but neither has made provision for the care of their 12-year-old son (Matvey Novikov).
Indeed, both parents are so wrapped up in themselves that they have virtually forgotten the boy in tears in the corner of the room.
Incredibly, even when he disappears there is an initial reaction of 'don't trouble me at work'.
Sadly, they are not alone in their lack of urgency. The police have a similar laissez-faire reaction when the case is first reported.
But gradually, they all realise that the young boy has not just run away from his ghastly parents and they are dealing with a real missing person case.
The skill of Loveless lies in the normality of the surroundings: Zhenya and Boris are neither wealthy nor poor - on the face of it, they are simply people who should never have married.
Sadly, their loathing of each other has completely clouded their judgment in terms of their son's upbringing.
Loveless is a film of our time. It should be to the regret of everyone that the importance of the family unit has been eroded.
Frustratingly, it takes too long to reach the movie's heart - indeed, for the first hour my mind was wandering. However, its second half gripped and left me deep in contemplation and gratitude for having had a stable home life as a child and adult.

Reasons to watch: Intense and convincing performances by Spivak and Rozin
Reasons to avoid: Takes to long to reach its focus

Laughs: none
Jumps: none
Vomit: none
Nudity: yes
Overall rating: 7/10

Director quote - Andrey Zvyagintsev: "This theme travels with me from film to film because this relationship between parents and kids is kind of a battlefield and also, at the same time, a playground."

The big question - How can any parent not care about their child?

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