The Face of Love

The Face of Love's story runs and blotches like cheap mascara.

Many are going to find the plot questionable and the protagonist's actions deplorable. But for those who've experienced loss and grief that seems irreparable, it is a film that will strike a deep and melancholy chord.

Old age, romance, grief, delusion and desperation all intersect in "The Face of Love," a far-fetched tale that nevertheless manages to be affecting.

What's mesmerizing here is what happens in Bening's eyes, in her complicated smiles, in her eloquent quiet.

Bening and Harris are great actors, and they fill their roles as completely as they can, given the limitations of the soggy and implausible script by Matthew McDuffie and director Arie Posin.

Like so much about this film, the finale hints at Hitchcock but settles for soap opera.

The Face of Love quickly accumulates emotional subplots that distract from this central idea.

Bening and Harris pour so much genuine emotion into their roles in this Vertigo-like romantic melodrama that they just about carry the film's fanciful premise.

Both leads take on the task of the dysfunctional couple admirably, but their efforts crash against a stubbornly creaky script.

The actors, though, lift the material. The most poignant performance comes from the late Robin Williams in a cameo as Nikki's neighbour and friend.

Middle-aged romances are rare on the big screen, so it's frustrating that this one is so badly compromised by a series of contrived plot points.