Love Is Strange

Few movies about life have at their heart a stable and loving relationship , for angst often is mistaken for a more cracking cinematic drama than everyday, " mundane" love.
"Love Is Strange" is therefore a rare beast, for at it's heart is a stable, loving and totally believable love affair between fifty something music teacher George ( Alfred Molina) and seventy something artist Ben ( John Lithgow).
We first meet the pair on the morning of their wedding as they bicker and spar in their Manhattan apartment and from the get go the film captures perfectly that every day ease long term partners possess in bucketfuls. It is clear that this movie isnt after histrionics and queeny drama.

Through a series of beautifully shot scenes,all bookended with George's students' Musical set pieces, the film follows the couple's unexpected separation. for after their marriage George is fired from his catholic school job and the pair have to sofa surf at friends' and family's apartments for a while when their own home is put on the market.
Through problems with personal space, moody nephews, exasperated nieces ( a great understated performance by Marisa Tomei btw)and claustrophobic new living places, Ben and George's relationship remains strong , affectionate and unwavering and it is clear that the audience really longs for the time when their pair finally get together, such is the winning performance by Molina and Lithgow....
It's a wise and lovely movie.
8/10