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| Plot Synopsis Based upon a play by screenwriter Brad Fraser, Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love, Denys Arcand's dark-humored drama Love and Human Remains follows the lives of a group of young Canadians, with a particular focus on their romantic and sexual experiences. The central characters are two roommates, David and Candy. The cynical, witty David is a former television actor turned waiter, the lonely, dissatisfied Candy a book critic; the two were formerly lovers, before David proclaimed his homosexuality. Candy is also questioning her sexuality, having begun a lesbian affair after wondering if her failures with men indicates she might be happier with a woman; meanwhile, David is becoming acquainted with Kane, a handsome, young busboy of uncertain sexuality who idolizes the older David. The other members of the ensemble are also somehow connected to the roommates, through friendship or romance, including Benita, a young dominatrix and part-time psychic, and Bernie, a boastful but insecure young businessman. The couplings and shifting relationships of these characters are intercut with the rather more severe story of a serial murderer who has been terrorizing the city's women, allowing Arcand to place the film's melodramatic elements in an edgier context. - Judd Blaise Reviews DUSTIN PUTMAN June 15, 1999. rec.arts.movies.reviews * * * (out of * * * *) On the surface, director Denys Arcand's "Love and Human Remains" may appear to be yet another cliched, boring Gen-X comedy, but it is far from that. Taking a more noticable cue from someone such as Robert Altman ("Nashville," "Short Cuts"), the film chronicles the empty lives of seven young adults living in an unnamed Canadian city, all loosely connected in some way. But to spice things up even more, Arcand has also seemed to include a David Lynch-ian subplot that, no doubt, stands as a clever metaphor for AIDS. Based on the play, "Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love," by Brad Fraser, the film's roots center in on two roommates and ex-lovers, David (Thomas Gibson), a cynical, 30-year-old gay man who used to be an actor but has turned to being a waiter, and who firmly believes that there is no such thing as "love," opting instead for one night stands; and Candy (Ruth Marshall), a lonely book reviewer who hates almost everything she reads and desperately wants to find a lover, even though deep down she is in love with David. Back at the restaurant David works at, his 17-year-old busboy, Kane (Matthew Ferguson), begins to hang around him, clearly interested, attracted to, and cautious of, David's gay lifestyle. David's two best friends include the womanizing Bernie (Cameron Bancroft), who sleeps with practically a different woman each night, and Benita (Mia Kirshner), a friendly S&M dominatrix who gets people off by telling them urban legends, and who happens to be psychic. Meanwhile, Candy finds herself gaining, and experimenting with, two partners, a bartender (Rick Robert) and an admiring, caring lesbian, Jerri (Joanne Vannicola). Among all of these interwining character threads is a serial killer, who may or may not be one of these seven people, that has much of the city in a panic, murdering beautiful, vulnerable women and then stealing their earring by gruesomely tearing them off their earlobes. "Love and Human Remains" is a largely effective, relevant motion picture, due, in part, because of the way director Arcand and screenwriter Brad Fraser, listen to each one of the characters. At first glance, any one of these people could be dismissed as unlikable, cruel, or weird, but very few of them actually are, as we are allowed to observe and learn about them, and the inner workings of their minds. Sure, David may seem hard-edged on the outside, constantly stating that "love" doesn't exist, but that facade is relatively easy to uncover to find a man who, just like Candy, longs to love and be loved by someone who really cares for him. He finds a glimmer of hope in Kane, but David is probably just a little too old for him, and Kane clearly has a lot of internal issues to work out with himself before they could even hope to start a relationship. The love Candy wants, however, comes to her relatively easily when, after having sex with Jerri, Jerri tells her that she passionately and deeply loves her. Too bad for Candy, then, since she realizes at this point that the whole thing was an awful mistake, since she now knows she isn't gay. The dangers of getting AIDS is one of the major undercurrents flowing through the film, with both David and Candy very cautious about getting it. Even they aren't safe all of the time, as is proven by the serial killer (AIDS, get it?) who might be closer to these two characters than they think. Also, symbolizing their closed-up feelings on life and love, an unidentified cat is constantly standing outside of their apartment window, trying to get in and shield itself from the cold. The symbolism in the film could easily have come off heavy-handed, but they are not, fortunately, shoved down the viewers' throats, and are admittedly creative ideas that wholeheartedly work in spite of themselves. Without giving too much away, even when the climax becomes more or less a violent thriller, I was able to buy it because I had never seen a relatively serious and intelligent look at human relationships intercut with a serial killer subplot. If all of the roles are mostly well-handled, the performances are mostly top-notch, headed by Thomas Gibson (currently starring on the TV series, "Dharma and Greg"), who is the epidome of perfect casting, both handsome and dark, savvy and brooding. Ruth Marshall is in every way his match on-screen, as a frustrated, weight-concious woman who realizes it is difficult to find love, and even when you do, it might turn out to be the wrong kind. Matthew Ferguson is striking as a teenager confused with his own sexuality, adding an appropriate mixture of curiosity and reluctancy to his unsure character. Mia Kirshner ("Exotica," "The Crow: City of Angels"), now a rising star, in one of her first film roles, somehow brings a touching quality to her memorable role, even though it is probably the most underwritten in the piece. Just from Kirshner's own acting assurance and facial expressions do we discover all about her, as a woman who works for a living as a dominatrix, but like everyone else, is very lonesome in her own life, finding a friend in only David. Cameron Bancroft and Rick Roberts, respectively, are fine in their not dissimilar roles as two lecherous slimeballs (who do not come in contact with each other once during the film). Last but certainly not least, Joanne Vannicola gives perhaps the most purely humane, understandable, and genuinely moving performance in the whole movie, mirroring that of Candy and David, as a schoolteacher who wants more than anything to be with Candy, but whose love is not returned. "Love and Human Remains" might have spent a little more time with the less fully-realized characters of Benita, Bernie, and the bartender, but on the whole, it is a one-of-a-kind film that takes a lot of courageous chances, story and character-wise, and also marked the impressive english-language directing debut of Arcand ("Jesus of Montreal"). The Canadian landscapes are painted with a grim forebodement, adding to the overall atmosphere of not only the murders, but the struggling relationships of the characters. In spite of the many positive critical reviews it garnered, "Love and Human Remains" did not gain the sort of notices it deserved upon U.S. release in 1995, and is very much a worthwhile rental choice. If anything, you're sure to never see a Gen-X "comedy" like this one ever again. STEPHEN FARBER Movieline.com It's a pleasure to see uncompromising movies made in English, and that's one of the strengths of Canadian movies. Of course, that also explains why American distributors are often reluctant to take a chance on them. Denys Arcand's new film, Love and Human Remains, has yet to find an American distributor. Based on a provocative play by Brad Fraser that was mounted in New York a couple of years ago, the film is a black-comic study of straight and gay relationships in a dangerous, violent age. It examines half a dozen characters looking for love in all the wrong places, uncertain whether the stranger they desire is soulmate or killer. Arcand, working this time in English, doesn't get quite the same meticulous performances that he achieved in his French language films. But Love and Human Remains is a movie on the cutting edge, like other Canadian films that have yet to be seen here. BARBARA SHULGASSER Examiner Movie Critic Friday, June 23, 1995 Search for love is intertwined with a murder mystery CANDY (Ruth Marshall), who writes book reviews, lives with David (Thomas Gibson), a man who used to be her lover, but now prefers men. He was once a successful television actor, but late 20th century malaise set in and now he's a waiter, dryly quipping that he finds the work more "artistically satisfying." Such exquisite self-defeatism establishes the tone for Canadian director Denys Arcand's first film in English, "Love and Human Remains." Arcand has been turning out movies since 1962, but he is best known in the United States for his 1985 "The Decline of the American Empire" and the 1989 "Jesus of Montreal." He's outdone himself with this one. The film, based on a script by Brad Fraser, who was reworking his play "Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love," is optimistic yet cynical. On the one hand, the search for love survives the story's tragedies. On the other, the only person who seems to know who he is, minute to minute, turns out to be a serial murderer. Everyone else agonizingly reconsiders essentials of the self 24 hours a day. Candy is frustrated by her love for a man who not only has withdrawn from their relationship but happily refuses to become close to any of his gay lovers. She wonders aloud to David if she might not be better off with a woman. David tells her, "You should get out more often. Sleep around a little." As if to prove her boldness to the detached David, she has a misguided affair with the first woman who asks, cruelly discarding her when an available man comes along. Childish, insensitive and demanding, Candy takes out her rage on those who try to love her. On her first date with Robert (Rick Roberts), a sweet man who invites her to his apartment for dinner, Candy throws an irrational fit when he has the nerve to make a pass at her. You feel certain that she would have been equally insulted had he not made a move. David, played by the handsome and droll Gibson, moves through life easily, doomed only by his reluctance to enjoy his gifts. It's as if he was scarred by his early success as a good-looking actor. Now he is disdainful of anyone who finds him attractive. Kane (Matthew Ferguson), the 17-year-old busboy David works with, is a pitiful puppy who idolizes him. Sexually undeclared, Kane wants so much to be like David that even in the face of humiliation, he offers himself to David. David, ashamed, backs away at the last minute. The movie is full of such subtle moments. Intercut with David and Candy's tribulations is a running account of a serial murderer creepily at work, attacking young attractive women and ripping off their pierced earrings as souvenirs. Almost from the start, you will be certain to discern the identity of the killer. But Arcand is a meticulous director; he wants you to figure it out. On the other hand, while Marshall is a convincing actress, she looks like Dana Delany or Molly Ringwald - kind of nondescript. Why everyone keeps telling her how beautiful she is is the movie's real mystery. Awards Film Presented- -1993 Telluride Film Festival Best Adapted Screenplay (win)-Brad Fraser -1994 Genie Awards Best Supporting Actor (nom)-Matthew Ferguson -1994 Genie Awards Best Supporting Actress (nom)-Mia Kirshner -1994 Genie Awards Best Supporting Actress (nom)-Joanne Vannicola -1994 Genie Awards |
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| LOVE AND HUMAN REMAIN 1993 - Canada - 100 min. - Feature, Color Director: Denys Arcand |
| Genre / Type: Drama, Ensemble Film, Urban Drama Flags: Profanity, Adult Situations, Violence, Substance Abuse (Alcohol Drugs), Sexual Situations, Nudity MPAA Rating: R Keywords: Romance, roommate, serial-killer, yuppies, sexual-orientation Themes: Twentysomething Life, Faltering Friendships, Serial Killers Tones: Quirky, Urbane, Tense, Irreverent, Ominous, Witty From play: Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Produced by: Atlantis Films / Max Films / Ontario Film Development Corporation / Societe Generale des Industries Culturelles / Telefilm Canada Released by: Max Films MPAA Reasons: for strong sexual content, language, violence and some drug use DVD Street Date: Feb 27, 2006 Languages: English Screen Format: Color Aspect Ratio: 4:3 (DVD) Studio: Arrow Film Region: All Cast Thomas Gibson -- David Ruth Marshall -- Candy Cameron Bancroft -- Bernie Mia Kirshner -- Benita Joanne Vannicola -- Jerri Matthew Ferguson -- Kane Rick Roberts -- Bartender Maurice Podbrey -- Theatre Director Harry Stanjofski - Charles S. Doucet - Aidan Devine -- Sal Barbara Jones - |
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