Love Is All You Need (2012/Sony DVD)
Picture:
B- Sound: C Extras: A Film: B+
Philip (Pierce
Brosnan) is a wealthy English business man and confirmed bachelor/widower for
life. Ida (Trine Dyrholm) is recent
cancer survivor hairdresser who just found out her husband is cheating on her.
They are brought together at Philip's beautiful Italian villa for Philip's son
and Ida's daughter's wedding, through all their past tragedy this is one
beautiful thing left in their lives, or is it? As Philip is intrigued by Ida, can Ida heal
Philip's wounded heart and past?
In
Susanne Bier’s Love Is All You Need
(2012) we get the land of wine and romance where Philip and Ida is brought
together for second chance at love. Philip is definitely a man troubled by his
past after death of his wife he puts all his time into his work, while Ida must
face her cheating husband at her daughter's wedding. At the wedding, Philip is chased by his
deceased wife's gold digger sister, and Ida bears the fact of having cancer and
trying to put on a brave face for her daughter. Philip becomes interested in Ida for her grace
under pressure, and Ida finds solace in Philip's devotion to his wife. Together they help give comfort and closure to
each other's wounds, but will that be enough to help them and bring them
together for a new life?
This film
was a recipe for drama, in the worst possible situation for a dysfunctional
family is forced together, where everyone has a skeleton in the closet,
everything is a lie and hidden behind a sea of smiles, but through all the
tragedy is it worth putting up lie of life to pretend to have a happy family? Through the better or worst until death do you
part, is that still true if there is only the worst? This movie features the beautiful vista of Italy with
family drama of a wedding where everything goes wrong, but through it all at
least there is on couple honest with themselves.
The
anamorphically enhanced 2.35 X 1 image is not bad here, a tradedown from the
2.8K Arri Alexa shoot. I cannot image it
looking better on DVD, but there is also a Blu-ray and if you want to see the
film and have a player, you should get it on Blu-ray instead. The lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is on the
quiet side, but is well recorded enough, but this is quiet and lacking at
times, so don’t expect much form the sound, though it might be better in a
lossless presentation. Extras include
commentary, Q&A with the cast, cast interviews from the Venice Film
Festivals, and behind the scenes.
- Ricky Chiang
