Feast of Love

The Multiple Courses of a Feast of Love
It is always puzzling when films of the caliber of FEAST OF LOVE are short-lived in the theaters, usually scantily attended in the shadows of the big, mean, noisy blockbusters. And when film buffs begin to believe that the meaningful movies only come from foreign sources, out pops the DVD release of a jewel like this film, a story so well written (Allison Burnett), directed (Robert Benton), and acted by a gifted cast to show under scrutiny that it is the equal of the best of the 'sensitive films'.

Based on a novel by Charles Baxter (and adapted by Allison Burnett, another extraordinary writer of his own novels CHRISTOPHER: A TALE OF SEDUCTION and THE HOUSE BEAUTIFUL), the story takes place in Portland, Oregon and examines the lives and love stories of myriad characters, each of whom is connected in some way to the father confessor of the town, one elderly professor Harry Stevenson (Morgan Freeman) who not only narrates the threads of the people's lives that round out this...

Come all to the feast!
This is, in short, one of the best films I've seen in a long time. It is well done and has a terrific cast. Any movie w/Morgan Freeman in it automatically has its rating boosted by a star or so. He's one of those actors who can stare into a camera for 5 minutes, say a 5 word sentence and you'll swear it was the most profound thing you've ever heard in your life.

The film is about a social circle which consists of some very diverse people. One is a college professor on sabbatical (Freeman), one is a cafe owner (Greg Kinnear) while two characters are employees of the cafe (Billy Burke & Alexa Davalos). The plot is not focused, but to me that's a good thing. It is like an overview of "everyday lives" of people within the circle.

Kinnear's character is a poster boy for the mantra that nice guys finish last. His persona's luck with women is almost as bad as mine. He's a great person who always means well, but his downfall is that he's also incredibly naive...

A pleasant romance
I have read that this was a difficult book to adapt for the screen since the book was written from many points of view. I think Benton did a good job, as it seems to flow effortlessly from one character to the next, tied together by Morgan Freeman's narration.

This romance is a story of love and loss, and is somewhat predictable and contrived.... but it still provides a couple of hours of viewing enjoyment. Some of it is depressing, as it depicts the ups and downs of love, but it also has moments of great tenderness. I also thought the acting was very good and look forward to seeing some of the new (to me) faces in other roles in the future.

Click to Editorial Reviews