Strong and Moving!

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

When Will I Be Loved is neither success or failure. It's a mild curiosity that had its inception when director James Toback was offered two million dollars to make any movie he wanted. He had no script ready, so he shot this improvised little 80 minute film in less than two weeks. Whether he really knew what he wanted from the start or just winged it as he went along is arguable. Watch in the film, for example, how celebrities and actors just pop up rather randomly since, you know, they're always just in New York (Mike Tyson has the best one as a "Not-Mike-Tyson-I'm-Buck" joke, but Lori Singer is inexplicable and Damon Dash gets a thankless walk-on). But there is something Toback wants to say, even if it takes a little while to get there and ultimately the message is cynical at best and rather hopeless at worst.Late-period Godard movies came to mind when watching how all-over the place Toback was with his structure and how he mixed his actors performing his on-the-spot dialog with a grab-bag of music (in this case it's either rap or Beethoven or Bach or whatever classical music is up for grabs). But perhaps one of Godard's better influences on filmmakers (not the hodge-podge quality of his later work) comes through in When Will I Be Loved, which is Toback's fascination with Neve Campbell. What little we know of Vera is that she's an aimless woman who apparently has a bit of money to be living in such a nice place in Manhattan (or, at least, her parents do), and she is looking for a possible job as a Professor's assistant (Toback plays the professor in a very odd appearance with a name that's right out of Israel, only Toback isn't).Meanwhile an 'Indecent Proposal' situation develops where her sorta-boyfriend, a sleazy and fast-talking (and unsuccessful) hustler named Ford is looking to get a hundred thousand by sorta-pimping out Vera to a Count (yes, a Count, like Chocula) played by a naturally elegant Dominic Chianese. He doesn't really want to take her away, just a night of love and companionship, though if she does want to go away with him- after he saw her from afar at an airport and at a town square- he'll far from object. Turns out the money is much more than she first expected, and then it turns into something else, a fast pulp fiction story of money and promises broken, and an unlikely Femme Fatale in Vera.One of the big problems with the film is that until about thirty-five to forty minutes into the film (and it's a relatively long time in the scope of the 80 minutes) Toback meanders with his characters. He cross-cuts between himself and Vera talking and walking, a little interest there, with Ford and his shady attempted dealings walking the streets, not as interesting. Then there's a very long girl-on-girl scene with Campbell and another girl, seen for an overlong shot with the two of them behind a curtain. And then when it comes time to get to the story, this too is cut in by an awkwardly place lovemaking scene between Campbell and Weller. It's not that Toback doesn't direct the sex scenes well... actually, that's not entirely true. When comparing either of the scenes with one of the most striking and erotically charged sex scenes of all time- Toback's own Two Girls and a Guy scene between Downey and Graham- they come up short (oddly enough a very brief scene between Chianese and Campbell, taking off her shoes, has more 'umph' than either of the previous scenes.And yet the film does have moments, little things where one sees Toback working well with the camera and his actors with the dialog; perhaps it's just me, but the strongest scene of character interaction was midway through when Vera and the Count have their conversation about what he really wants from her in Vera's apartment. It felt 'written', but it was good writing, a natural conversation by two actors who just suddenly clicked in their roles like they had not elsewhere in the film. Also, Mike Tyson's cameo is totally amazing, a favor for friend Toback but worth the while. It ends on a note of pessimism, and maybe a hint of self-made tragedy in the face of the almighty dollar, but by the end the point is a little rushed in the face of the choppy plot and scenes. It holds one's interest, but there's points where When Will I Be Loved stalls in its maker's mindset, and then stalls for us, too.

Watching wily old writer/director James Toback chatting up dewy-eyed Neve Campbell in WHEN WILL I BE LOVED is to witness a veteran Hollywood player at the top of his game. Casting himself in a small role as a university professor, Toback is pictured talking to a sophisticated young deb named Vera (Neve Campbell) about a job as a research assistant although he seems to be suggesting there are other positions she could fill as well. Since the dialogue is largely improvised it is not unreasonable to assume Toback is fluent in this kind of doublespeak in real life. In the film-maker's 1987 opus The Pick-Up Artist Robert Downey Jr. plays a smooth-talking womanizer rumored to be based on Toback's own experiences. It is possible to see why Toback succeeded where other directors have failed in getting the comely Ms. Campbell to take it all off for her art (which she does in this film.) Toback was nominated for a screen writing Oscar for 1991's Bugsy but it is small personal films like 1978's Fingers and 1997's Two Girls and a Guy that have earned him hipster cred among Hollywood's cool young elite. The filmmaker encourages his actors to become involved in the creative process. In Campbell's case, "I came to her with 35 pages of script and we ended up talking for 12 hours and throwing ideas around and becoming very inspired by each other," he tells us on the DVD commentary track. (We also learn on the DVD that the film was shot in 12 days followed by 8 months of editing. Toback's tips on how to shoot fast and cheap are essential viewing for any young filmmaker with big themes and a miniscule budget.) Campbell won the best reviews of her career for her performance but the entire cast sink their teeth into the meaty provocative dialogue with relish. The script has Vera, described by Campbell on the DVD as "empowered, somewhat manipulative but strong ", exacting an unexpected revenge on her fast-talking hustler boyfriend (Frederick Weller) after he attempts to negotiate a tryst with an elderly billionaire (Dominic Chianese of Sopranos fame ) who has become fixated on her and willing to pay any price to indulge his obsession.The improbable plot line serves as a vehicle for Toback to explore his "curiosity about sexuality and physicality but also human nature and what drives people to do the things they do." (Toback leaves it to his cast to improvise their own sex scenes - like a lesbian encounter between Campbell and Ashley Shelton.) The prickly auteur has a cheerful disregard for conventional rules of film-making and it shows. The conversation between the professor and Vera probably goes on too long and there is a bizarre scene with boxer Mike Tyson that defies description. Yet Toback makes no apologies. "With this film there is no right or wrong answer. The way that people respond or decide who Vera is has a lot to do with who they are, which I find interesting."

"When Will I Be Loved" (2004) is an interesting film that explores the issue of sexuality and the feeling of being wanted, of being loved. Though not done completely successfully, there are many interesting elements here. This includes Neve Campbell as the lead character Vera who does a very good job in her role as well as Dominic Chianese as the Count. There is an intriguing use of music too, with different styles of music representing the individual characters in the film. For example, Neve Campbell is represented by Bach. And the cinematography in her apartment is extraordinary, especially the red couch (which is a complete contrast to her, since she's wearing black throughout the film). All in all, interesting if not perfect.

SPOILERS THROUGH: This was one strange movie. I've seen a lot of films and rarely had this much trouble with a rating. My feeling is that the premise of this movie was absolutely great but there were a lot of other factors that really brought the movie down a lot.Neve Campbell stars in this and she puts in a great performance as do the other main performers but the movie is full of a string of almost bizarre happenings. One of the major things is the music. Watching this movie became so annoying because as one is watching it, you gradually become aware that the music is getting louder and ,and making matters worse is the fact that the music doesn't fit the movie at all. I'm not saying the score is dreadful but first of all, it's CLASSICAL and I could see it featured in a parade scene or a movie about kings and queens not a nourish psychological thriller indie film like this! The music was totally out of place. Secondly, ANY musical score played this much would have the capacity to get on one's nerves. The music becomes the focus of the movie. It almost makes no sense. And I see from various other comments that I am not alone in thinking this. Thanks IMDb reviewers! Then there was the length of some of the scenes. Again on the bizarre side. Some of these scenes do not end. And some of them are completely unnecessary and do nothing for the movie. It gets to be almost unwatchable at times which is a shame as there's a really interesting plot in here and the plot doesn't even seem like the main focus of the movie.Then there's the exploitative nature of some of the scenes all involving Neve's character. What was the point to it? It kind of leaves a bad taste in your mouth and added nothing to the movie in general. And the characters were almost all really obnoxious. That really didn't help the likability factor much.But here's the thing-the plot is actually a good one. If this movie had been done without all the above mentioned things, concentrating just on the plot with more focus, I bet a lot of the reviews would be very different. It's a good story with a good cast but the way it was done was baffling.Now having said all that, I will say the last act was infinitely better then the rest of the movie. In fact this movie while not being all that great is not dreadful even with all the negatives. And I did want to see what happened. I ultimately had mixed feelings about the ending. Clever yes but something about it left me a bit Cold. It is a frustrating experience watching this because there are a few moments where one gets glimpses of something really really good there but then the negatives come up again. But the last act was the best part of the movie.I wouldn't recommend this movie to people but what I could see is reading about the plot and just watching the last 15-20 minutes. Ultimately, this movie is disappointing, and also puzzling. For a really good movie about the con, I'd recommend "House Of Games" or "The Grifters" both of which were excellent. This movie does stay with you a bit, but isn't really above average. My vote's 5 of 10.