...that awkward age...
(...these are just my very first impressions upon seeing "L.A."...I don't mean to offend anyone or come on too strong and also I hope this doesn't contain any spoilers for you...)
I just finished watching this incredibly hard-to-forget movie. I feel sad and disconnected and wondering. It's not that the acting wasn't great (it was) or that the underlying idea of the suffocation that comes with "playing it straight" didn't threaten to undo me with huge, racking sobs. The scenes with Simone and the boyfriend she didn't love broke my heart--what closet lesbian hasn't been in a relationship she never wanted in the first place?
What I had a problem with was the unlikely source material for romance and the potential double standard. I don't think many directors would do a film about a male teacher who fell in love with his 17-year-old student...certainly not one where it was seen as romantically painful and hopelessly inevitable. It's true that "Loving Annabelle" IS about more than sex and it's not at all sleazy (it's, in fact, powerfully touching at times) but I can't seem to get past the fact that Annabelle isn't an adult and the woman she's pursuing so zealously is old enough to know better than to eventually give in.
Though the way Simone looked at Annabelle is the way many people wish that special woman would look at them, I didn't find that the actresses had much chemistry. Individually they both are worthy of the affection they inspire in each other (the teacher is the strong, private, sensitive type who longs for true love but would never admit it and the student cares about her classmates and being true to herself no matter what the cost), but together...well, I didn't feel the kick I have in other love stories.
But that's just me. I mean I love "Xanadu" (the original film) so my taste in movies is up for debate:)...
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