Love You To Death

Love you to Death is an almost clich storyline told with a highly unusual, unexplored narrative. The film centres on an affluent couple (Sonia and ... read more

Love you to Death is an almost clich storyline told with a highly unusual, unexplored narrative. The film centres on an affluent couple (Sonia and Alok), where the wife has the upper hand, in terms of finances and decisions, while the husband tries to be commanding but merely remains a yelling spouse unable to get things done his way. So much that he isnt even sexually well performing.

When Sonia suddenly becomes environment conscious due to the influence of the attractive foreigner John, Alok gets desperately unsettled as she is willing to set up a solar-plant on the 30 acre prime land where he wanted a factory expansion. The mother-son duos attempt to murder Sonia, whereas destiny has alternate plans for things to function.

Love you to Death is a stereotype-shattering film because it doesnt deal with murder in an archetypal way. So conspiracies arent planned in dingy rooms with sombre undertones, but with casual conversation over coffee. Its dramatic energy is deliberately kept restrained so as to not fit in a straitjacket of an ordinary thriller. Where it most stuns is the spontaneous manner in which it deals with a largely intense issue. Also incorporated is the entire concept of love and war which layers the film, and adds metaphorical depth. The film is carved of some well-framed shots, stunningly bought out by the director-cinematographer, and also flaunts performances that go with the flow and do not disappoint. The one whos looking for the mystery genre will enjoy the radically different fashion in which the film is treated. Deserves a watch.
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I went to see Love you to Death with zero expectations. I thought it was one more of the small, sidey movies that pop up from time to time, made by... read more

I went to see Love you to Death with zero expectations. I thought it was one more of the small, sidey movies that pop up from time to time, made by people who are too clever by half. I was pleasantly surprised when this movie turned out to be quite an entertaining watch.

The ad for the film touts it as a Hinglish film. But after a few token sentences in Hindi at the start, it abandons the pretense and is mostly in English which is a relief because the actors dont look like they speak much Hindi in real life. The film has the feel of a play being filmed rather than an actual film. The scenes end in a staged way at times and you expect the curtain to drop. But that does not take away from the essential fact that the story is entertaining and engrossing right till the end.

Sonia is a rich orphan married to a loser guy with a domineering mother and a hen pecked dad-in law. When she refuses to give the husband money to finance his project preferring instead to give it to a handsome dude who makes solar energy panels for rural upliftment, the mother son duo plan to kill her. I wont tell you the rest of the story since it will spoil your enjoyment of the twists and turns and the suspense.

Yuki Ellias as the heiress starts off as a ditzy young thing, totally into mumbo jumbo about crystals and chakras and obsessed with her dogs insomnia and anorexia. She transforms into a steely person once the plan becomes evident to her. Yuki holds your attention completely. She has the poise and self-confidence of a girl born into money. Chandan Roy Sanyal as her husband hits the right note of irritating in his behavior for you to want to slap him. Suhasini Mulay as the scheming mother who plays video games with the servants is superbly sinister. The dad in law steals your heart with his rocking Elvis dance complete with flashing goggles. Sohrab Ardeshir does a hilarious turn as a sex doctor complete with a song that has lyrics that go Up up up sung by him with some nurses in short skirts. Sheeba Chadda as Sonias psychic completes the competent cast.

I enjoyed watching this movie. Its very different in its treatment of the story. Meant for a very niche late night multiplex audience it should have been marketed more on social media to create some buzz. I would recommend a watch.
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Love You To Death is not that lovely like its title. It is promoted as an outrageous comedy in Hinglish. I am a simple writer but wanted to make su... read more

Love You To Death is not that lovely like its title. It is promoted as an outrageous comedy in Hinglish. I am a simple writer but wanted to make sure before penning my thoughts why they used outrageous! My local dictionary gives me two meanings of outrageous. First one: Grossly offensive to decency or morality (causing horror). Second: Greatly exceeding bounds of reason or moderation.
I will go with the first option. Rating 2/5

Story :
Sonia, a rich zero-size married woman loves her Baby, her doggie and can spend any loads of money for her chronic depression (logic: dogs are no less than men a pure female perception). Sonia is married to Atul, a clumsy fellow trying to make it a big through collaboration with a Russian arms dealer. He fantasizes war but suffers from lack of male shakti. Moving ahead to finalize the collaboration, Atul needs money of Sonia. But she is intimated by muscular eco-friendly stud, John. John lives in self-made biosystem doing R&D; for generating green energy (but still cant term him as scientist). Sonia falls for her and wants to invest in his ambitious energy project. Conflict arises between Atul and Sonia and the love moved in their life towards death.
There are other plots also (cinema gang, doctors song, etc) but the story lacks conviction in coupling the different modules.

Simple Cast:
Chandan Roy Sanyal: plays Atul. He played the role of Mikhail in Kaminey. He has shades of good set pieces (one can even find a bit of Vijay Raaz in his performance). However, the role here did not match upto his potential.
Yuki Ellias: plays Sonia. Movie belongs to her. She enjoys the maximum screen possession. She also contributed in directing and script. She looks a bit too thin on screen (and thus, sometimes you dont take her seriously even when it is needed). Acting is satisfactory, sometimes over.
Suhasini Mulay: regular. Nice to see a bit of vamp in her here. Refreshing.
Sheeba Chadha & Sohrab Ardeshir: talent appreciated.
Doggies They too have a considerable screen presence. Some were cute (Baby, owned by Sonia) and some were huge (Tiny, owned by John).

As a marketer, I can clearly define the problem for LYUD. A confused positioning. The movie is not hilarious, forget outrageous. The movie though does highlight some environment issues and if you are a science guy who used to see NASA videos how they use algae to produce energy, then you might just appreciate the story. Otherwise, the script is not excitedly. The script should have paced itself faster and brought in it some thrill (something like the movie Shor In The City!).

What works: a different Hinglish feel, environment & energy awareness
What not: script, pace, entertainment awareness

AG verdict: in the Oscar month, you will surely get better options. Stay alert and keeping watching this section for more.

Smart Trivia: Who do you think is Svetlana in the movie? Guess! view less

A lesser known film thats hitting the screens today is a comic-thriller-love story called LYTD which is about a series of murders that are waiting ... read more

A lesser known film thats hitting the screens today is a comic-thriller-love story called LYTD which is about a series of murders that are waiting to happen. Does it warrant a watch?
No, this one is a strange film that doesnt quite entertain.

Sonia(Yuki Ellias) is a rich spiritual girl who loves her pooch. Her husband Atul(Chandan Roy Sanyal) is after her wealth and hatches murder plots along with his sinister mom(Suhasini Mulay). They want funding for a project & when Sonia refuses to give in, Atul puts his master plan in play which doesnt quite go as per plan. Does he murder her, does she get away? Thats for you to see and find out.

At roughly 105 min the films runtime isnt much but when you sit through it, it feels like a lifetime. The screenplay is sluggish and there is barely any meat to bite into. Leave alone a sequence at the doctors clinic, there are barely any laugh worthy moments.

When the makers call it a comic-thriller they leave out both elements in large doses thereby serving a drama that almost feels like watching a play at times.

The cinematography by Rafeeq Ellias is brilliant and the film doesnt feel like a low-budget venture. He captures interesting shots and the camerawork is the best part of the film.

Of the performances, debutant Yuki stands out. Though unconventional looking for a lead, she does a good job. Suhasini Mulay too is great. Chandan R S is mediocre.

The fault in this wacky product is in the writing. Director Rafeeq attempts to twist and turn the characters just to build on some sort of madcap feel by adding a Elvis-dancing father, house-help who plays videogames or a poodle who really gets too much screentime for no reason. The problem is that it doesnt add any value to the end product.
There is also a weird sex song in the midst of this all that is far from funny and will make you scratch your head and ask what just happened?

To sum it up, Love you To death is not your regular Hinglish film. It eccentric, random & portions of it might be good but overall it is a weak effort that needs to be avoided.
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Good movie