Film Review: Love and Death on Long Island (1997)

Bathos, defined as the sudden appearance of the commonplace in otherwise elevated matter or style, has provided the basis for some of the richest comedy in cinematic history. To see the elegant and the erudite among the coarse and the obtuse is usually a winning formula. Nowhere is this more evident than in the cinematic adaptation of Gilbert Adair's novella  Love and Death on Long Island.

Richard Kwietniowski has directed the story of an erotomaniac brought out of his narrow existence by an unlikely attraction. The plot concerns Giles De'ath, an aged English writer who favors an aesthetic belonging to an era largely forgotten. Isolated from modernity, the novelist leads a reclusive existence, acknowledging only a select few, including his housekeeper and his publisher.

The inelegance of modern-day London makes itself evident from the first few frames where Giles, a creature in opposition to modernity of any sort, makes reluctant incursions into the metropolis. Contrasted with the fastidiousness of Giles, modern society is seen as an unwelcome assault on refined sensibilities.

Nowhere is this juxtaposition more humorously conveyed than when Giles, opting to see an adaptation of E.M. Forster's The Eternal Moment is ushered into the wrong theatre. It is here that the literary aesthete finds himself in the room where Hot Pants College II is being screened for a tragically over sized audience of ca. 6 people. Incensed by the inanity of what he sees on screen, the indignant writer is about to storm off before gazing at the delicately featured Ronnie Bostock, portrayed by real-life teen idol Jason Priestley. Smitten, the writer cultivates an unlikely obsession for not only the physical features of Mr. Bostock, but also for his cinematic oeuvre. Ashamed of his secret passion, which is fulfilled through acquisition of teeny-bopper magazines and VHS tapes of sub-standard films, Giles immerses himself more and more within the hermetic world of concealed same-sex attraction.

This attraction serves as the inspiration to seek out Ronnie Bostock in the secluded Long Island hamlet of Chesterton. For Giles, the chicanery he must employ in order to arrange an "accidental" encounter with Bostock provides some of the richest comedic material. Eventually, the vacant teen idol's girlfriend recognizes the true intent of Giles; thus, the ruse of being a writer merely seeking to selflessly advance Bostock's career is uncovered. The homo-erotic desires of Giles remain unbeknownst to Ronnie, providing for a genuinely moving climactic scene in which the normally dispassionate writer's wishes are revealed at last. Both the veteran English actor and the Canadian-born television star handle the scene in a most delicate manner, exercising a restraint and humanity that characterizes the film itself.

Beautifully filmed, sublime and worthy of a greater appreciation than it has been given, Love and Death on Long Island is worth the attention of all true cinephiles.

Love and Death on Long Island (1997)
103 minutes
Color
Directed by Richard Kwietniowski