This review originally ran on January 23, 2022 during the Sundance Film Festival
There’s a difference between being alone and being lonely. The experience of being alone is a physical one and can be solved by calling a loved one or just sitting in a coffee shop, surrounded by strangers. However, the feeling of loneliness is one that hurts the deepest, usually leaving you to contemplate how you’ve found yourself in this situation. It’s also true that you can feel both lonely and alone at the same time, perhaps the most isolating experience a human can endure. Writer/director Max Walker-Silverman points his lens at this human fragility in the beautifully meditative drama, A Love Song.
At first glance, the film’s American West aesthetic and lone female protagonist echoes the 2021 Academy Award Best Picture winner Nomadland. It feels true that these stories could exist in the same timeline, but after absorbing everything the 81-minute runtime has to offer, A Love Song makes Nomadland feel hallow. A Love Song is absolutely incredible.
Dale Dickey gives an unforgettable performance as Faye, a nomad and widower, who has been eagerly anticipating a visit from her childhood boyfriend Lito (Wes Studi). Living out of her camper van next to the lake, she spends her days listening to the sounds of the birds–identifying them by their distinct chirping–fishing for crawfish, and listening to country tunes on the radio. The sounds of nature soothe her mind, grounding her back to the earth when the thoughts of reconnecting with another person begin to feel overwhelming. Faye doesn’t even speak until about 10 minutes into the film.
Lito, himself a widower as well, arrives at Faye’s campsite and it’s not long before their small talk and pleasantries turn into gentle reminiscing about the people they were when they first meet, many decades ago. They comment on how much everything – the environment and themselves included–has changed since they last saw each other.
When you reach a certain age, you get to a point where you stop living for others and start living for yourself–authentically and honestly. At this stage in their lives, Faye and Lito have outgrown the need to impress and have adopted a “what you see is what you get” approach to life, which is quite refreshing to witness. It’s honest, and pure, and leaves no room for regrets.
A Love Song is a bit misleading, though. Its title alone leads one to believe that this is a romance about two people falling (back) in love with each other, when in fact, that’s not entirely true. Director Max Walker-Silverman crafts a love story about falling in love with yourself and your life, regardless of how unconventional and not according to plan you find yourself in any given moment.
Birthed from the film’s natural purity is the sentiment that it’s never too late to start living the life you want. A moment of happiness is more important than a lifetime of regret, so take the chance! Risk it all! Because as Faye so eloquently says, with this line that will haunt me for the rest of my life, “However long you get, that’s long enough.”
81 minutes.
