It occurred to me stronger than ever before, while watching I Want Your Love, the insignificance of the connection between character and viewer. I expect many films might be greatly depreciated were that empathetic link removed, but only on a personal, emotional, selfish status. On a formal status, it is of little value. I Want Your Love is certainly a well-made production (and for a mere $80k), but it is a rare case in which empathy with the characters is near essential in order to enjoy the experience. Travis Mathews' confidence with actors and with dialogue enables him to rely on the establishment of this connection, as he cannot rely on our respect. These are people living almost exclusively inside their own heads, ruminating over ruminations, discussing how they've felt and how they feel and how that might influence how they might feel etc. It's somewhat pathetic, these artistic types obsessed with the past and the future, and failing to snap out of it and realise that the past was and the future will be, but there is only the present. Their fallibility is what earns your empathy, in the end. And their passion, even exultation, at what sex can contribute to their lives, jolting them into the present, into the instant, into a rapturous appreciation of pleasing oneself as one wants to, is joyous to behold. Mathews delves into sexuality in a physical manner that only non-simulated depictions of sex can truly honour, and the refreshing openness of these scenes, their frequency and lack of self-awareness, and their stirring eroticism makes me wonder why most filmmakers bother with sex scenes at all. Mathews' understanding of sex, in particular the thrill of good sex, is a thoroughly marvellous thing to witness enacted. So should I Want Your Love fail to connect with your soul, it may at least connect with your libido.
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