Have you ever wondered what would happen if you overloaded your life with kindness and empathy? Or maybe you're tired of always being the "nice" one? Then focus your attention on Love Hate, a film that nabbed the Jury Award at the Palm Springs International Short Fest in 2009. Written and directed by Dylan and Blake Ritson, this clever and quirky short creates an incredibly entertaining and thought-provoking twist on the human psyche of the world's sweet-natured.
The Inner Id Raises Hell on Celloid
Centred around the seemingly content and fulfilling life of Tom (Ben Whishaw), a kind-hearted and altruistic charity worker who spends his days pushing petitions at passerbys. As we're dropped into the first minute of the film, we can quickly see the bitter frustration and irritating disappointment in his face as he fails to catch the attention of pedestrians.
"I always thought I was a nice person," he states in his voice over at the end of the day as a mysterious woman in black appears and follows him all the way home. It soon becomes a one-night stand from hell as the woman refuses to leave and begins mocking his belongings, including a picture of his ex-girlfriend, cleverly named Joy. As he reveals that she is in fact his hatred in human form, they become inseparable as she moves in with him, bringing all of her contempt-filled belongings with her.
After they spend their days together scaring birds in the park and playing violent video games, Tom tells his Hate (Hayley Atwell) that he's falling in love with her. She has already dug her dirty and contemptuous nails into his kind-hearted soul. His dark side finally shines through as they lounge around at a costume party dressed simply as "adults" looking disaffected and indifferent.
Their relationship takes a violent and destructive turn as Tom takes Hate's advice by going to pick a fight with his friend. He gets knocked out with one hit as Hate shows up and kicks him in the stomach to teach him about "self-hate." Tom then tries to end their relationship, telling her that she is a bad influence on him. She is furious at him, telling him that he can't break up with her or escape from his hatred because she is him.
The film skips ahead one year when Tom has gotten back together with his equally kind and sweet girlfriend, Joy. At the conclusion of Love Hate, Hate shows up again on his couch, placing Tom's hand on her pregnant stomach.
The Release of Repression Creates the Film's Dismal Atmosphere
As Tom treats his repressed contempt and frustration to the outside world, we indulge in the film's stunning visual representation of his destructive urges. John Lynch's cinematography creates a gloomy and malicious rendering of Tom's powerful id. The darkened and dimly-lit interiors capture the increasingly bizarre and ominous nature of his embrace with his deeply immoral and devious pleasure principle. The cloudy skies in the exterior shots which are so characteristic of Britain, effectively demonstrate the darkness and explosion of Tom's inner disdain that's lurking just above him.
The Writers and Actors Create an Intriguing Story of Primal Instinct
Writers and directors Dylan and Blake Ritson have conceived an incredibly original premise that teases our own desire to feed our primal instincts. By taking bits and pieces from the typically surreal and wacky dark humour of British comedy found in classic sitcoms like Blackadder and The Young Ones, they have applied an engaging aspect to this strange love story.
The performances by the two main actors give this quirky film its uniquely charming and indulgent icing on the cake. As the hopelessly sweet and naive Tom, Ben Whishaw, who was once called a "gentle pixie Jimmy Dean" by his The Tempest co-star Russell Brand, delivers an unusually wrathful performance as a man who finally gives into his dark thoughts and urges. We sense the relief and cathartic joy from the evil twinkle in his eyes as the hatred and revulsion seeps from the pores of his sickeningly angelic and pure skin.
As the surreal Freudian incarnation of Tom's mischievous and angst-ridden side, Hayley Atwell is charmingly evil, caustic and hysterically self-indulgent as the charity worker's demon twin.
If you have 20 minutes to kill and are looking for a film that's guaranteed to give you a much different take on love, unleash your inner id with Love Hate.
Love Hate can be watched on the BBC Film Network .
Sources:
- Brand, Russell. Booky Wook 2: This Time it's Personal. New York: HarperCollins, 2010.
Laura LeFebvre - Laura has been a writer probably for as long as she's known how to pick up a pen or peck at a keyboard, thriving on the written word ever ...
