Release: A Tale of Love and Darkness

 

A Tale of Love and Darkness

Genre: Drama

Director: Alex Conn

Writer: Alex Conn

Based on the book by Amos Oz

Cast: Carey Mulligan, Michael Stuhlbarg, Jude Hill, F. Murray Abraham, Fred Melamed, Louis Chaplin Moss

Budget: $21,000,000

Domestic Box Office: $5,011,667

Foreign Box Office: $4,490,333

Total Profit: -$25,590,094

Reaction: There's not much to say about this one. It failed to find a sizable audience anywhere across the globe, becoming a rare film to lose more money than its initial production budget.

"Alex Conn’s adaptation of a culturally significant memoir, previously done well recently in 2015, takes the perspective of a child witnessing chaos they can't fully grasp. Unfortunately, the story lacks intrigue, the characters feel underdeveloped, and the film’s message remains muddled (if not lazily preachy to some). Carey Mulligan stands out as a bright spot, but her early exit leaves the film adrift." - Jason Helm, New York Observer

"I did not like the approach taken in this film, especially with it being so relevant today. To start off with the casting for me is off. The jumping back and forth in years also took me out of the film even further. This was definitely not for me." - J. Darrell Ellington, Behind the Camera

"Despite a brisk run time, A Tale of Love and Darkness feels bloated and unfocused. Writer/Director Alex Conn seems lost in Amos Oz's memoir, struggling to craft a compelling narrative from its deeply personal reflections, instead relying on clunky exposition, heavy-handed political messaging, and long-winded monologues. Carey Mulligan is left adrift in a poorly developed role, while the child actors as Oz himself at different ages never register. Instead of an actual story, we are given a series of disconnected vignettes that lack cohesion or genuine emotional impact, generating more eye rolls than tear drops." - Dave Manning, Ridgefield Press

Rated R for thematic material, depictions of suicide, and brief scenes of war violence