'Feast of Love'

There can be no denying that "Feast of Love" (MGM) is a moving and, in many respects, a beautiful film.

There is gifted artistry evident in several of the performances, in the direction and cinematography, and in at least some of the writing. Yet this is a film that offers its audience a false set of philosophical choices, and makes an idol of erotic love while also portraying that love with a sometimes-intrusive frankness. As a college professor on a leave of absence, Harry Stevenson (Morgan Freeman) has plenty of time to spend in Jitters, a Portland, Ore., coffeehouse owned by Bradley (Greg Kinnear) and staffed by two young "baristas," Oscar (Toby Hemingway) and Chloe (Alexa Davalos). While Oscar and Chloe fall passionately and happily in love under Harry's steady gaze, their boss is not so lucky. After his wife Kathryn (Selma Blair) leaves him for another woman, Bradley turns to real estate agent Diana (Radha Mitchell) for comfort. What he fails to realize is that she, too, has a secret: a long-standing, adulterous relationship with hardened businessman David (Billy Burke). Harry himself is no mere observer of relationships. He and his wife of many years (Jane Alexander) are still deeply devoted to each other. But their relationship has been strained by the recent death of their son, an event Harry feels sure he should have been able to prevent. Even Chloe and Oscar eventually find themselves forced to contend with dark forces. Menaced by Oscar's evil father and subject to the grim prophecy of a medium, they must also decide whether or not to make a pornographic tape of themselves to raise much-needed cash. The artistic intent behind "Feast of Love" is unmistakable, as is the cinematic craftsmanship with which it has been realized. But the film, as directed by distinguished veteran Robert Benton ("Kramer vs. Kramer" and "Places in the Heart") and masterfully lensed by cinematographer Kramer Morgenthau, presents a sometimes unfocused, sometimes myopic moral vision where love and sexuality are concerned. The movie's script, for example, takes the stance of an impartial observer, prepared to record but not evaluate its characters' amorous activities. Adultery, premarital sex, homosexuality, pornography: In keeping with the film's title, these choices seem at times to be mere items on a menu. Then, too, there are the excessively narrow philosophical alternatives with which "Feast of Love" confronts its audience. Is romantic love a mere trick of nature, intended to provide the impetus to populate the planet? Or is it the only possible source of meaning in an otherwise totally chaotic world? The notion that erotic love has a legitimate but limited role in human life, and that it ought to be placed at the service of a higher form of love, is never entertained. Romantic affection is thus elevated to the status of an idol from which all else in life derives its significance. As for the physical expression of this form of love, its portrayal in the film will strike some as unflinching, others as voyeuristic. It is undeniably graphic. Perhaps a little more restraint would have made this "Feast" more palatable to many and in the end more nourishing as well. The film contains extensive frontal, rear and upper female nudity, sexual encounters, some of them graphic and adulterous, same-sex coupling, some rough language, occasional profanity, drug use and pornography. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is O - morally offensive. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R - restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian. - - - Mulderig is on the staff of the Office for Film & Broadcasting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

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Copyright (c) 2007 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops