This film go largely poor reviews, but for whatever reason the films of director Alan Rudolph always get me. A lot of his films seem to exist in their own universe. The noir elements of this film and "Trouble in Mind" feel quite similar, but even his films like "Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle" or "Choose Me" seem to exist on their own plane of reality. Tom Berenger plays a hard-boiled private investigator hired by Anna Archer to tail her shady boyfriend, which leads to a Raymond Chandler-esque serpentine mystery. Add in a competing P. I. in the form of equally tough-as-nails Elizabeth Perkins and you have an interesting love triangle of sorts between the three leads. What makes "Love at Large" memorable is writer/director Alan Rudolph and the unique style he brought to an oddball series of films he made in the 80s and early 90s, which seemed to exist somewhat out of time ("Trouble in Mind" "The Moderns" "Mrs. Parks and the Vicious Circle" and this film). These films were throwbacks to another time, but incorporated 80s/90s pastels and neon color palettes, along with modern sensibilities to the characters and situations. Composer Mark Isham's score also nicely balances a score that feels period yet also contemporary. Although the "Love at Large" meanders and is slow at times, the cast, which also includes Ted Levine, Kate Capshaw, Ruby Dee, Kevin J. O'Connor, Annette O'Toole, Anne Magnuson, and Neil Young, and Rudolph's visual style make the film well worth watching for fans of old school noir and 80's indie flicks. FUN FACT! "Love at Large" was filmed primarily in Portland, Oregon.
Review of Love at Large
