This is a capsule review. A full review will be posted when the film hits theatres.
A provocateur yes, but Gaspar Noé more than anything is overt. His latest offering, a self-serving, self-congratulatory piece of pretension dressed up as an exploration of passionate romance does but one thing well, and does it frequently.
Love 3D starts with a five minute sex scene, the camera holding steady on a nude couple tending to each other with their hands. It in itself is a disclaimer: this film is unapologetically sexually explicit and authentic, and if the opening segment makes you unsettled, then it’s best not to continue.
One half of this couple is Murphy, an American film student living in France who is a stand-in for Noé, talking about his desire to showcase real love on screen, because all the other movies don’t accurately depict it. He also wants to name his child Gaspar.
Unfortunatrly, Murphy isn’t particularly likeable. On New Year’s Day, while being annoyed at his partner (not the woman from the opening), and his baby, he reflects on what got him into this disgruntled messy life. It began with the exotic Electra; she’s the one from the first sex scene, and the two share many more, sometimes with other people, including his child’s mother.
Their’s is apparently a fiery and fierce relationship, but she is just as boring as Murphy. While certainly brave for taking on such vulnerable roles, Karl Glusman and Aomi Muyock don’t have chemistry outside of the bedroom (or bathroom, sex club, what have you), and aren’t able to make their characters at all sympathetic. It also doesn’t help in taking the work seriously when Noé clearly puts his thoughts to Murphy’s voice. Or when you realize the singular reason he decided to film Love in 3D….
