Love Is Now

Overview

A simple and surprisingly affecting love story set against the stunning summery glow of rural New South Wales, Love Is Now is the feature film debut of writer-director Jim Lounsbury. The story concerns Dean (Eamon Farren) and Audrey (Claire van der Boom), two young photographers who embark upon a romantic holiday cycling along the NSW harvest trail. Lounsbury's screenplay suffers from a lot of the familiar shortcomings of first-time film outings, including patches of dodgy dialogue and a distinct lack of self-awareness. Nevertheless, the film is made worthwhile thanks to its sympathetic characters and some gorgeous cinematography, not to mention an absolute gut-punch of an ending.

The weakest section of Love Is Now is definitely the first half-hour. The prospect of yet another indie film romance about an artistically sensitive guy and the free-spirited girl who changes his life isn't exactly electrifying, especially when it never manages to convince you that she'd want to get with him in the first place. Even by that low standard, Dean and Audrey's meet-cute is seriously unconvincing, although credit to the actors for doing what they can with the stilted getting-to-know-you banter. Van de Boom, in particular, is fantastic in the film, recalling the screen presence of a young Rachel Griffiths.

And while it's a little hard to believe that Audrey would fall head-over-heels with Dean, Lounsbury's screenplay does an excellent job capturing the feelings that accompany such a sudden and unexpected romance. The spontaneity. The excitement. And, of course, the jealousy. Once you accept them as a couple, Dean and Audrey begin to grow on you, to the point that, when things start to turn sour, it's easy to find yourself caught up in the melodrama. The climax of the film sheds a whole new light on their relationship, and your visceral emotional reaction more than makes up for the fact that, narratively, it's sort of a ridiculous cliché.

Love Is Now also earns big points in the technical department. The quintessentially Australian landscape is captured beautifully by cinematographer Anthony Jennings using digital SLR cameras – Nikon helped foot part of the film's bill, and as a showcase of what their products can do, it appears to be money well spent. Shots of long roads and eucalyptus trees at sunset aren't exactly a new direction for local cinema, but still, you can't deny it looks good.