0
0
Somewhere in Lilja Ingolfsdottir’s Loveable, Maria confesses, “The best thing about me is him,” The statement makes us want to examine any marriage that ever contained an ounce of love. Are relationships conquests? Is there a direction to navigate once you hit the jackpot called the ‘happily ever after’?
Ingolfsdottir’s film opens with Maria (Helga Guren) almost pinning down a musician by his collar. The woman is at a party and is trying to heal from a recent separation which she describes as a toxic relationship. Not charmed by Maria at first sight, Sigmund (Oddgeir Thune, dreamy and adequate) soon falls in love, and the couple marry. As Loveable fast-forwards seven years of their matrimony, Maria struggles with four children (two from her previous marriage), household chores, an inactive career, and an absentee husband.
The story instantly invites our sympathies for Maria. In the era of co-parenting, the men in her life are constantly missing, and the children are too young and rebellious to cooperate. To make matters worse, Maria shares a complicated relationship with her teenage daughter. After multiple small and big altercations, Sigmund suggests Maria take an anger management course to fix her communication lags.
Now, what is anger, and where does it stem from? Is one innately angry, or is it the circumstances? Loveable – in its quest to understand this allegation from a cheerful yet not-so-participative husband – deep-dives into Maria’s psyche. In a spate of counseling sessions, Maria is forced to place the mirror before herself. Ingolfsdottir also throws a brief yet eye-opening passage between Maria and her mother (Elisabeth Sand, excellent). With this strategy, the film lends a fresh dimension to an otherwise black-and-white divorce story.
Loveable does not get into Sigmund’s perspective. The man’s phone is constantly on voicemail, and it’s annoying. He communicates less but is generally expressive towards Maria with words of endearment and physical touch. Ingolfsdottir does not want her film to become a blame game between two parties. So, it makes sense when the husband does not show up to a joint counseling session or when he speaks to his son’s teacher by himself. Is Sigmund evil when he lets Maria leave their home? Is he a bad father when he instantly replies to Maria’s message about the children’s custody? We do not know. Loveable is Maria’s coming-of-age at 40, and Sigmund’s side can feature in a different chapter.
In her full-length feature debut, Ingolfsdottir exhibits maturity as she gives the gift of objectivity to a sensitive subject. It is easy to blame Sigmund. It is easier to find faults in Maria. Rather, Loveable raises tough questions about marriage – all universal and gender-neutral. The film does tend to overemphasize some of its commentaries on relationships with dialogue and tell-tale devices. Maria’s dysfunctional equation with her elder daughter is reminiscent of English Vinglish (2012), but it merely scratches a common issue on the surface. Likewise, the bathroom mirror scene – tonally – belongs to a different film. But Helga Guren, armed with blazing intensity and unique lip contortions, makes us sit up, gasp, and take notice of her abilities. With such sharp craft on display, it will not be a surprise if she hits the Hollywood mainstream soon.
Speaking of the West, it has had enough marriage-breaking stories from Kramer Vs Kramer to The Revolutionary Road and The Marriage Story. Similar decibel levels at some portions aside, Loveable attempts to keep the theatrics in check. Ingolfsdottir’s film is distinctively contemplative when it offers an inner look into its flawed heroine’s mindscape. And lastly, in a world caught up by patterns of patriarchy, it signals women to help themselves before offering the mask of love to the nest they nurture with great care.
Rating: ★★★★
Loveable was screened at the 55th International Film Festival of India (IFFI, Goa).
