Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		2.5

Love at Large Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov December 1, 2015

Alan Rudolph's "Love at Large" (1990) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Video. The only bonus features on the disc are a few original trailers for other Kino Video releases. In English, without optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

The detective and his client

It is impossible to tell precisely what type of film Love at Large was meant to be. Its script is so odd that it feels as if two writers with drastically different styles wrote different parts of it and then a third person who never met them put everything together. This third person also must have doubted his instincts because as it is the script repeatedly tries to explore new areas but as soon as the path that it wants to follow becomes obvious it stops and heads right back to the safe zone.

The main characters are equally puzzling. In fact, they are so out of sync with each other that after the final credits roll the viewer is left with the impression that they were meant to appear in different films. For example, Tom Berenger’s character is a jaded detective who most of the time walks and talks like a very bad comedian who has had a few drinks and is convinced that his one-liners are pure gold, but they are so dull and so mistimed that he looks absolutely awful. And yet, the film tries very hard to make a good case that there is a part of this guy’s head that works properly and that women actually like his style.

One of these women is Ann Archer’s Miss Dolan, who hires the detective to follow her boyfriend (Ted Levine), seduces him, and then somehow falls madly in love with him. The whole thing is utterly unbelievable. These two are so incompatible that it actually hurts to see them brought together. Miss Dolan is a sexy, incredibly elegant woman that simply belongs in a much more serious film.

The clueless detective also steals the heart of Elizabeth Perkins’ Stella Wynkowski, a bubbly young woman who is hired to follow him and make sure that he does what he is paid to do. She is much smarter than the detective, but the script quickly pushes her in his arms and she finds him irresistibly attractive. The two then become partners and finish the job.

The worst thing about this film is that it wants to be smart, possibly even provocative. It is odd because this becomes crystal clear well into the second act, after the detective follows his target to the countryside and connects with the young woman that is sent after him. Until then the whole thing looks like a parody. The shift is arguably one of the worst introduced in a film with such an impressive cast. Not only is the material very poor, but the actors look completely lost, trying to somehow add substance to a film that is absolutely impossible to take seriously -- with or without the satire.

It is worth mentioning that there is a light noir veil that covers the story as well. It is beyond obvious, but it is placed as a smart trick to make the viewer see the mess from a completely different angle and hopefully “get it”. The trick is just as bad as everything else that does not work.

The film does have a lovely soundtrack. Mark Isham’s lush jazzy score adds some class to select sequences, but they are quickly forgotten. Leonard Cohen’s “Ain’t No Cure For Love” is also heard during the opening credits.

Love at Large Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Alan Rudolph's Love at Large arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Video.

The release has been sourced from a pre-existing master that was most likely prepared for the old DVD release of the film. The bulk of the film looks decent, with well-lit close-ups in particular looking quite good. However, the limitations of the master become obvious during the indoor and nighttime footage. Indeed, shadow definition tends to fluctuate and as a result depth isn't as good as it should be. There are no traces of recent degraining corrections, but it is easy to see that grain could and should be far better distributed and resolved. Some light noise is also mixed with the grain and as a result plenty of the indoor footage looks quite flat. There are no traces of recent sharpening adjustments. There is plenty of room for improvements in the area of color reproduction. Some color tonalities are clearly missing and elsewhere balance is not very convincing. Color saturation also should be better. Image stability very good. Finally, there are no large debris, cuts, damage marks, or torn frames to report in our review. To sum it all up, there are areas of the film that look decent, at times even surprisingly good, but elsewhere it is easy to see that the current master is actually quite old. My score is 3.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Love at Large Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are not provided for the main feature.

The audio has not been remastered, but clarity and depth are good. In fact, Mark Isham's jazzy score easily breathes throughout the film and during a number of different sequences the sax solos are surprisingly well balanced (there are no unintended dynamic fluctuations). The dialog is crisp, stable, and easy to follow. There are no audio dropouts, pops, or digital distortions to report in out review.

Love at Large Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailers - trailers for other Kino Lorber Blu-ray releases.

Love at Large Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

This film tries so hard to be smart and original that after a while it literally becomes unwatachable. There are tiny bits of Alan Rudolph's brilliance in it, but the script simply isn't good enough. Kino's technical presentation of the film is decent, but the only bonus features on the Blu-ray are a few trailers. RENT IT.