A holdover from the early 1980s indie film scene, which gave us forgotten classics like ATRAPADOS (1981) and TAKING TIGER MOUNTAIN (1983). DOOMED LOVE (1984), a no-budget labor of love made by the late graphic artist/filmmaker Andrew Horn (1952-2019), fits right in with those films, being overtly experimental and defiantly uncommercial.
Horn’s objective appears to have been a spoof of—or possibly an eccentric tribute to—old school Hollywood melodrama, represented by Andre (William Rice), a literature professor consumed with grief over the untimely death of his wife. He tries to commit suicide while intoning highly repetitive, enigmatic dialogue that constantly loops in on itself: “Where was I? Where am I? Oh, yes. Of course. I can see it. So many years ago. There I was, here I am. Sometimes I’m happy, sometimes I’m blue. It had to be you.” If you find this off-putting, but advised that such wordage is used by all the characters in this film.
At a doctor’s office Andre meets Lois (Rosemary Moore), a nurse with whom he strikes up an immediate rapport. He then sees a psychiatrist (the film’s co-scripter Jim Neu) who provides a not-very-helpful pep talk: “It’s over. It’s finished. Look Andre, everything isn’t over, everything isn’t finished.”
Lois and her husband Bob (Allen Frame) pay Andre a home visit in an attempt at cheering him up. Lois and Bob live a life of apparent bliss, spending their days singing Lenny Pickett written songs to each other (sample lyric: “Another beautiful morning…We’re very lucky”), yet Lois can’t get Andre out of her mind. Before long this illicit love blossoms, but as the title signifies, this affair is not destined to last.
Included in this warped tapestry are frequent mythological and folkloric allusions, presumably to underline the universality of the themes. We also get extensive footage of the outrageously archaic movies and TV shows the protagonists watch, which include appearances by the alt-culture legends Charles Ludlam and Black-Eyed Susan.
The presence of Ludlam and Susan helps fit DOOMED LOVE into the “No-Wave” film mold. Yet it’s a fully realized, confident piece of filmmaking, thus setting it apart from most no-wave fare (which tended to be felled by amateurishness).
The performances are deliberately stilted, with the line readings done in monotone, and set to a score by The Lounge Lizards’ Evan Lurie (with an assist from his brother John), whose campy romanticism enhances the sarcastic tone. Most important to Horn’s aesthetic are the painted sets, created by Amy Sillman and Pamela Wilson, that flaunt their two-dimensional artificiality (Horn never seems too concerned with the fact that the actors often cast noticeable shadows on the scenery) and lend the proceedings a somewhat CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI-esque feel.
The ultimate effect is paradoxical, relating an overheated melodrama that exists at an emotional remove due to the stylization. But that appears to have been the whole point.
Vital Statistics
DOOMED LOVE
Director/Producer: Andrew Horn
Screenplay: Andrew Horn, Jim Neu
Cinematography: Carl Teitelbaum
Editing: Steve Brown, Charlie Beesley
Cast: Bill Rice, Rosemary Moore, Allen Frame, Jim Neu, Charles Ludlam, Black-Eyed Susan, Tsering Ngudu, Yoshiko Chuma, Peter Yoshida, Ron Yamamoto