Lovable

Alan Zweig

BY Allan TongPublished May 8, 2007

Alan Zweig just might be the Canadian answer to Todd Solondz: both are misfits who are self-tortured, pessimistic and sardonic. Zweig reveals all these qualities in this examination of loneliness in contemporary Canada. Surprisingly, he profiles several women, inquiring why they are sans partner, and examines his own predicament throughout the film.

There are no clear-cut answers to explain why these women, who are attractive and range in age from somewhere in their 30s to 50s, are alone. Some are content, a few embittered. To Lovable’s credit, the audience can see themselves in these women, which is where the film emotionally connects.

However, Lovable drags on as Zweig laments about his own personal life, about the nights downloading music at home, about keeping the TV on to fill the silence, about a recent relationship that obviously meant something to him. Also, the film doesn’t seek any answers to cure the common loneliness — there’s no talk of dating services or matchmaking by friends or anything to climb out of the single hole.

Zweig reports that this is his third and last documentary, having made cult favourites Vinyl and I, Curmudgeon; it’s dramas from now on. In a strange way, I’ll miss this form of self-loathing doc making because it’s unafraid to bare its sad soul.
(Primitive)

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