Leben und lieben in L.A. (1998)

Leben und lieben in L.A.: Directed by Willard Carroll. With Angelina Jolie, Dennis Quaid, April Grace, Patricia Clarkson. Eleven articulate people work through affairs of the heart in Los Angeles.

“I saw this movie twice and liked it better the second time. If you like love stories and involved dialogue then this is a flick for you. It is a quadruple love story with a small dose of extra marital affair, a fair look at a husbandu0026#39;s search for himself and a sprinkle of mother/son understanding. Six stories to start and you must follow each of them. All of these stories come together at the end in a way that really touches your heart.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBeware of other comments regarding this movie in this area – a couple of commenters have told the entire story. Part of the joy of this movie is to try to figure out how all of these characters connect to each other. I found it enjoyable to see I was right while I watched it all unravel. Thereu0026#39;s nothing wrong with predictability especially if youu0026#39;re not really *that* sure if you came to the right conclusions before the end.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAngelina Jolieu0026#39;s acting is stunning and her repore with Ryan Phillipe is perfect. I was surprized to see that Jon Stewart is a natural and Gillian Anderson can do no wrong in my eyes. If nothing else, see it for Sean Connery who is always at his best.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI think that people who donu0026#39;t like this movie donu0026#39;t enjoy the mystery of love. u0026quot;Talking about love is like Dancing about Architechture.u0026quot; How is this so hard to fathom? The story is confusing because love is confusing. Thatu0026#39;s what this movie is trying to say. u0026quot;But thatu0026#39;s not gonna stop me from trying.u0026quot; These lines are reiterated in the movie: Theyu0026#39;re said at the very beginning and then the same scene is shown in its proper order. It doesnu0026#39;t take a genius to appreciate it. Some have expressed disinterest in a few of the characters, such as the affair between Madeline Stowe and Anthony Edwards. Itu0026#39;s called a family and once the movie is over, we see how they relate at the end. For Stowe and Edwards, one of these hired the other for a job at a party at the end, and an affair ensued. Stoweu0026#39;s husband, Dennis Quaid, thinks she doesnu0026#39;t like him and does some role playing and soul searching because heu0026#39;s been told he doesnu0026#39;t have much of an imagination. Heu0026#39;s only trying to figure out where the two of them went wrong. Some have also expressed concern over why the mother/son segments, played by Jay Mohr and Ellen Burstyn, were even needed. This would have only taken some extra attention to the story itself. Hint to those who have not seen it: they were the next door neighbors to u0026quot;Hannah and Paulu0026quot; making Jay Mohr the u0026#39;boy next door.u0026#39;u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAll in all, all the actors do an incredible job and the story is something to see and LISTEN to. Both times I saw it, the entire theatre stayed put for at least 4 minutes taking in all they had just seen. That alone should intrigue you. On a scale of 1-10 I give it a 9.”