Lust Life Love (2022) Film Review
There can’t be an easy way to produce a film like Lust Life Love without awakening some confusion about its intention. Fortunately, I believe general audiences have become more progressive. Many Years ago, a film with this theme would have been accused of nonsensical softcore porn. But today, we’re open to observing other lifestyles, regardless of the immoral labeling they would have been plastered with decades ago.
But still, it can’t be easy. It’s just not a regular film. Or at least it doesn’t delve into the same genre territories as other more traditional films.
Created by Stephanie Sellars, Lust Life Love tells the tale of a bisexual writer who’s living a poliamorous lifestyle. She’s more than comfortable in this world. But this doesn’t mean more traditional figures can’t have a place in her life. Veronica is actually in a relationship. She just can’t seem to hold it together when she goes out of her comfort zone to explore the extreme side of being a non exclusive partner.
When Veronica meets Daniel, a married young man, doesn’t try to stop the chemistry between them. Daniel even enters the world of Veronica. But when they get too comfortable, trouble arrives in the form of something primal that Veronica can’t control.
Lust Life Love goes beyond the obvious autobiographical nature of such a film. It’s a deep dive into the rules of a world that has no rules, led by a fantastic figure who surpasses any initial consideration we may have with a revelatory first act. At first she flirts and teases with the traditional figure of a relationship. Her position is that of a surefire opposition to the system.
Monogamy is a mystery and a figure of interest for Veronica. The movie departs from this. This is how Daniel becomes a study subject for her. Her initial questions are innocent, not flirty at all. However, her agenda is clear. She deconstructs every possibility in every lifestyle she experiments with.
The issue with the film is execution is inconsistent. Veronica is a fascinating character when she isn’t trying too hard to exploit her circumstance. Sellars also plays Veronica, and she also writes and co directs, but her presence isn’t enough for the script to impact on an emotional level that makes the audience understand this is possible.
A film like Lust Life Love is essential for making us believe that a world we don’t know first hand can actually co exist with more traditional settings. This one does up to a point when it’s not too busy trying to make some sense of questionable character direction. Even when the film gets sexually graphic, it feels like a natural rendering of a lifestyle that’s simply different, but not harmful.
Veronica is the epicenter of this romantic film, and everything revolves around her inability to cope with lack of control. However, let’s one crucial scene. The most important scene in the film is its last. Veronica is drained of everything that made her a unique element in a world of difference. Brokenhearted, she admits her inspiration is depleted. She’s got no other choice but to follow human nature and express love. She isn’t a prisoner, but she isn’t free either. She’s just a woman whose emotional load is heavy enough to make her a victim of a game she’s keen on playing.
Most of us have been raised in a society where polyamory is forbidden and considered dangerous. Movies like Lust Life Love exist in a dramatic plane that’s easy to digest because they’re films made with heart and have no hidden agendas. This is one easy to get.
