Love

Dag Johan Haugerud has a lot on his mind. His “Oslo Trilogy” (Sex — which played at VIFF last year — and Dreams are coming soon) puts us all on the metaphorical couch to examine social and psychological attitudes towards romantic and physical attachment in our time. It’s an ambitious agenda, but also rich terrain for comedy, pathos, and philosophy — and that’s what he delivers in Love, which trains a quizzical eye on the trysts of a female doctor, Marianne (Andrea Bræin Hovig), and her colleague, a gay male nurse, Tor (Tayo Cittadella Jacobsen).

This being now, dating apps figure large as Marianne decides to take a leaf out of Tor’s playbook and experiment with meaningless sex… Meanwhile Tor begins to reconsider and looks for a different kind of connection.

Critics have compared the film to Richard Linklater’s Before trilogy, Eric Rohmer’s Moral Tales, and to The Worst Person in the World, which will be recommendation enough for discerning filmgoers.

A refreshing delight. Honest, thoughtful, and daringly talky as it observes modern dating customs in the age of apps.

Leslie Felperin, Hollywood Reporter

Breezy, sexy, thoughtful… rather radical: a tender, gently observed relationship study that places as much stock in casual sex as in seeking a soulmate.

Guy Lodge, Variety

Satisfying, thoughtful […] Love is a drama about choice, chance and the carpe diem imperative, especially in the face of illness and emotional distress.

Jonathan Romney, Screen International