Loverboy (2005) – Psychological Drama
- Director: Kevin Bacon
- Cast:
- Kyra Sedgwick as Emily Stoll
- Dominic Scott Kay as Paul (her son)
- Kevin Bacon as Marty
- Matt Dillon as Mark
- Marisa Tomei as Sybil
- Sandra Bullock as Mrs. Harker
Synopsis
Loverboy (2005) sau huwa a psychological drama centred around a mother’s possessive love for her son. The plot revolves around a woman named Emily Stoll (Kyra Sedgwick), a complex character who has relentless determination to build a family with her and son Paul. She is emotionally scarred due to a number of relationships and is now a single mother who ahead decides to bring up Paul in total seclusion from society. Now her over–love for Paul gets into an obsession and starts getting out of bounds as she wants to keep him all to herself.
Emily makes sure that Paul is detached from anyone except her in particular and the society in general. She does this by home schooling him and creates a perfect world in her mind in which Paul is the ideal husband. But as time passes by, Paul has the urge to become more self-sufficient and therefore, the relationship starts to strain Emile and in turn makes her more idiosyncratic and clingy. The extreme attempts of her to cover him from the outer world and considering him not even being in a romantic relationship takes a toll on her mental and emotional stability.
Awards & Wins
The movie was not a frontrunner for many awards but it had its share of focus on the characters for instance, obsession of Kyra Sedgwick for her son. It is interesting to note that it was directed by Kevin Bacon, who had his wife in a lead role – this must have helped in building the required emotional backdrop for the character study in the movie.
Cast & Crew
- Kyra Sedgwick has an incredible and terrifying performance in the role of Emily, a character whose obsession with love leads to tumultuous emotional chaos. Emile makes us sympathize with Anna, in any woman’s heart there is something shapeless and crazed tenderness of a person holding her son and curses the beast grabbing her because of her devotion and wanting to control and preserve what she believes is good.
- Sebastian Scott Kay depicts young Paul betwixt tenderness and the desire to liberate himself from the strict hierarchy of civilization wherein he adores his mother.
- Kevin Bacon, apart from being the director of course, plays the brief role of Marty, an acquaintance of Emily and shows off his competence both in front of and behind the camera.
- Matt Dillon, Marisa Tomei, and Sandra Bullock each play a key role and are observed for delivering short but significant performances which enhance Emily’s troubled love story.
IMDb Rating: 5.4/10
While apparently mixed in their reception by critics and audiences alike, Loverboy is probably best known for its sinister atmosphere and outstanding performances by Sedgwick. Some of the critics defending the film complained of the sluggish pace, others, in contrast, noted the interest in examining the psychological aspect and understanding the disturbing closeness in the characters.
Personal Insights
It is through Loverboy that one is able to deeply understand a mother whose love for her daughter has turned toxic. Tough questions are raised as to how far to one should extend their maternal love and where to draw the line between protection and control. The way this complex character, played by Kira Sedgwick, portrays Emily’s obsessive love for her child is both horrifying and heartbreaking. Rhythm of the story is fed by the dark flashes on the screen of Emily’s life that was troubled at some point of time, that were out of order making the film even more interesting to watch.
All performances in the film are captured clearly without too much self bore nonsense, which is very easy to do in moving pictures. Inherent cinematography and speed of the movie along with harsh music which was so damn brilliant in every aspect represented Emily’s feelings of being locked in a complex of her own creating.
Although the movie is not likely to please everyone, given the morbid and traumatizing theme at heart, it is rather interesting for people who look forward to dramas that involve mental aspects. The story revolves around the idea of love that can be too clingy and suffocating in nature, but Kira’s minimistic approach of portraying Emily’s flaws makes it much more interesting.
Cultural Importance
The film Loverboy depicts a universal tale about motherhood, oppression, and loneliness which has a cultural perspective on parental relations. More specifically, the film uses this ability of a mother to cross the line between caring for her children and excessive domination which threatens destructive consequences for the family.
The film portrays the social issues of the parental attention inversely and the unfounded idealization of family life practised by many mothers. In this context, the overindulgence factor comes in and this explains why an emotionally troubled person like Emily tends to overdo things and in the end ends up injuring the very person she cares most.
Besides, the independent, low-budget style of the film’s production makes it easier to portray more intimate themes without losing the commercial appeal which tends to be the case with a lot of psychological thrillers. It approaches the intricacies of the mother-child relationship from a more sensitive angle focusing on the psychological effects caused by the mother’s love when taken extremes.
Conclusions
Even if it is not a regular mainstream movie, Loverboy (2005) is still an interesting psychological drama thanks to an outstanding performance of Kyra Sedgwick. The film extends brazenly towards viewers with an interest in obsessed love and the more vile aspects of motherhood which comes off within this film rather well, albeit rather discomforting. The film’s rhythm will not be to everyone’s taste but for those who appreciate in-depth psychological studies of its characters, Loverboy is an appealing work.