Love Me Tender (TIFF review)
Fear of leaving the house has kept Seconda in her house in her small town for nine months. Not having much of a life because of it, she terrorizes the cat or has the occasional small conversation with her parents, who understandably do want her to leave the house.
'Love Me Tender' is as peculiar as its main character Seconda. It's hard to root for her, as her conditions make her pretty unlikable. But you hope she’ll leave at some point, if only to put some life into this story.
When Seconda ends up alone in the house, the hope for fresh air starts to brew. Having eaten all the cat food there is, she has to leave the house sometime.
When she finally does, it feels like 'Love Me Tender' finally starts rolling, and it turns out Seconda has some fierce life in her after all.
At times ‘Love Me Tender’ isn't an easy watch, and it seems like it's deliberately not trying to. It shows the destructive nature of the conditions people have to deal with every day.
But the undeniably thorough performance of lead Barbara Giordano makes this anti-hero's journey one that does leave a lasting impression.
#TIFF19 Public Screenings: Fri Sep 6, 6:15PM / Sat Sep 7, 5:45PM / Fri Sep 13, 9:30AM
