MOVIE INFO:
Diane and Fox love to work. Unfortunately, they live in a polarized world where having a job is illegal.
REVIEW:
Love and Work is an anti-slacker comedy about people who want to and love to work in a society that bans it. It’s a one note film that is spot on about its satire, and at 77 minutes, is short enough to never wear out its welcome.
The world here has overproduced itself. Thus there is no need for more stuff. It’s suppose to be an anti-consumerist utopia but is a distopia. The town looks abandoned. The streets and buildings are in disrepair and mostly structures of brick and concrete, none taller than two stories. It’s literally a black and white world devoted to an anal definition of fun- playing solitaire, swinging on swing sets, drinking, sitting listlessly, taking in the sun in a park. Anything that involves thinking and repetitive movement is considered work- sewing, writing, anything creative. Violators are sent to time out centers where there forced to do yoga and breathing, relaxation exercises.
The twist is that the slackers are the work police and the hard work ethos folks are the criminal element. Time itself is banned, along with the days of week, less everyone start working for the weekend.
The restless workers Fox (Will Madden) and Diane (Stephanie Hunt) are constantly being caught by the work police. This kind of ineptness vs ineptness gives Love and Work its comedy and meta creds. Slowly, the two intuit that there is a world beyond this black and white life, and that it might be in color, although they be totally confused by this rainbow existence if they saw it or even imagined it. Their illicit jobs are just busy time, work for works sake. They meet cute in a shoe non-factory, making shoes that no one will actually wear from assorted scrap parts. Later Diane gets an assignment folding boxes for the boss character who can’t exist without the notion of boss in his head. Their time travelers, of sorts, fighting the existential ennui that has taken over society.
The director Pete Ohs imitates the deadpan style of Jim Jarmusch. Ohs comedy style is just broader and easier for the audience to connect with. The relationship between Fox and Diane is fizzier than anything found in Jarmusch. They’re pretty simple characters with hick accents and almost aw shucks mannerisms. They exist to deliver Ohs joke and make the audience believe it. Even in a color world the two will still be grays.
The economy of storytelling doesn’t allow for any ambiguity or mythology. There is no need for an omniscient narration. It’s just simple people getting in trouble for doing what they love and falling for each other as a result. The story is the twist, the thing that makes it seem new and fresh. It’s a movie made to be enjoyed and not analyzed.
Love and Work gets a 3.5/5 or a B+. It’s being shown as a part of the Chattanooga Film Festival that runs virtually from June 21-28.
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