Love is Strange

There was a line in Love is Strange that stood out for me because it spoke directly to my experience. John Lithgow says something along the lines of how you learn more about a person than you'd like to when you're forced to live with them. I was already friends with Max when I moved in with him during my sojourn in Columbus, and we're still friends today, but without getting into too many details, there were definitely times when we got on each other's nerves. Part of it had to do with the fact that I was moving into his place, as opposed to the two of us getting a place together, but mostly it was discovering how different our lifestyles were. I had never spent so much time living with someone other than family before, and this kinda took me by surprise, because I believed, perhaps nievely, that it would be the opposite.

The lead characters in this domestic drama go through a similar experience. Lithgow and Alfred Molina are a newlywed couple who, when forced out of their apartment (and after Molina's character loses his job), have to live separately with friends and relations until they get back on their feet. There's more to the story, but what stuck with me was the whole notion of how such circumstances force you to reevaluate how you see those who you love and trust most. Living with Max tested our friendship for sure, but we got through it. I like to think I wasn't a great burden on him, at least I hope I wasn't, and he has told me that he learned from the experience, which is encouraging. And of course, I remain eternally grateful for him letting me opening his home to me for as long as he did.

As for the movie itself, it's very nice. I was totally convinced that Molina and Lithgow were a couple; they had outstanding chemistry together. And there was some nice usage of New York city streets as a background. A very reflective movie that draws you into it. Worth seeing.