Love (Gaspar Noé) - Movie Review

As with all movies on this website, our goal is not to provide a complete synopsis of the film, but rather to document how the movie relates to the meaning of life. With that said, be forewarned, there are still spoilers ahead.

Love is a controversial film that was released in 2015, directed by Gaspar Noé. The controversy surrounding the film mostly revolves around unsimulated sex scenes and the amount of sexually explicit content. As such, this movie is for mature audiences only, doubly or triply so if you watch the 3D version.

The story revolves around Murphy, an American living in Paris studying film and his girlfriend Electra, an aspiring artist. Together, the two would experiment with just about every type of drug and sex imaginable; and the two would fall intensely in and out of love, eventually leading to a complete and total collapse of the relationship. Murphy wanting it to continue, Electra wanting nothing more to do with him and falling ever deeper into the world of drugs.

What is most interesting here is the exploration on what is love. Is it sex, dopamine, getting high, or something more long lasting, more spiritual, maybe even less spiritual—contractual? Both cheat on each other (even after promising to always to protect each other), Murphy even gets another woman, Omi, pregnant. Murphy and Omi end up together and do have a child together, a relationship Murphy seems to despise. Murphy never gets over Electra and feels trapped in his relationship with Omi. After receiving a phone call that Electra has disappeared, Murphy is filled with memories of guilt and regret and seeks escape through opium. Murphy is often depicted in a dreamlike state remembering moments, good and bad, with Electra; contrastingly, he is then is shown in his mundane and stifling life he did not choose with Omi.

While together, Murphy becomes increasingly possessive of Electra. Murphy would eventually hit a previous lover of Electra over the head, after Electra cheats. This leads to Murphy being taken to the police station where the cops suggest that the American way of life, that possessiveness is psychologically harmful. They suggest Murphy and Electra visit a club where people openly have sex, or openly watch people have sex with whomever they want, to release the feelings of jealousy and embrace open love. So, they do, which only puts more strain on their relationship and further pushes Murphy over the edge.

What is the essence of life according to the film? Blood, sperm, tears. What is the meaning of life? Love. Simply love, whatever that means, as the film blurs the lines between the romanticized version and the all too common cycles many people fall in and out of throughout their lives. Couples marry, couples divorce, individuals cheat, and individuals grow apart—repeating heart break, anxiety, and a thirst for answer—an unquenchable thirst for meaning. Eventually, if you don't find the right person, you run out of time, life ends, you die alone never meeting your soulmate. Love, like drugs, can be addictive and lead to self-destruction.

Many critics questions the depth of the movie. However, if one reflects on the film, what it is exploring, in all its raw intensity, there is quite a bit of depth displayed visually through realism, without the need for extended philosophical discussions. Unfortunately, the film doesn't explore love later in life.

Notable quotes:

Murphy: I'm a loser. Yeah, just a dick. And dick has no brain. A dick has only one purpose: to fuck. And I fucked it all up. Yeah. I'm good at one thing: fucking things up.

Electra: I don't know anything about love, but in my mind its like a place you don't want to leave.

Murphy: Okay. Okay, so you've been in love, you know what it feels like, but you're no longer there. You left.

Electra: No, I mean. It happens where you end up in a situation where you feel a lot of love around you. Not only, you know, like relationship. Love is love. Love is life. Love is light.

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Murphy: Look, we live one life. When we're born, we know we're going to die. And so what's the point, to keep fighting? For what, there's no hope. We should just commit suicide.

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Murphy: I don't want to say goodbye. Hey, what's the meaning of life.

Electra: Love.

Murphy: Life is what you make of it. Like a dream.

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Murphy: Electra, I love you. There's nothing after death. Nothing at all.

We rate the movie:

Overall - 6

Meaning of Life Relevance - 5

Uniqueness – 10

Did you see the movie? What did you think? What did we miss?

#love #nihilism #suicide