The Russian drama Loveless, nominated for 2018’s Best Foreign Language Oscar, wouldn’t be the first to show how a deteriorating marriage destroys other lives in its wake. But Loveless isn’t just bleak, it’s bitter, with contempt for how the culture that still lingers from the Soviet Union breeds hatred and distrust across generations.
Zhenya and Boris (Maryana Spivak and Aleksey Rozin) are long past salvaging their marriage. Zhenya is cold and superficial and Boris is distant and noncommittal, and neither of them wants their son. Loveless reveals its observant sensitivity when in a single shot Zhenya storms to the bathroom after a heated argument with her husband, oblivious that their son Alyosha (Matvey Novikov) has been eavesdropping and sobbing behind the door. Continue reading “Loveless”