Giving Depth To Love

Release Date: February 13, 2004
Directed by: Deepa Mehta
Starring: Bruce Greenwood, Emilia Fox, Edward Fox

Director Deepa Mehta likes to challenge her audiences. Throughout films like Fire, Earth and Bollywood/Hollywood, she's situated her characters in grey areas where traditional social norms battle with liberal mores. Her vision is decidedly post-modern and her films (notably Bollywood/Hollywood) share the frustrating but captivating tendencies of post-modern thought.

Her latest project to hit the big screen, The Republic Of Love, complements her body of work to date. As such, it makes for a thought-provoking, albeit occasionally tedious viewing experience. Based on Carol Shields' book, The Republic Of Love may be one of the more enigmatic romantic comedies to come out in recent years.

The story focuses around Tom (Bruce Greenwood), a disillusioned late-night DJ who's a three-time loser on the marriage circuit. His problems with relationships may stem from an early separation from his biological mom. He was, in turn, "adopted" by 27 surrogate mothers for a homemaking class, an experience that haunts him even into his 40s. He wallows in therapeutic sessions with his nightly listeners on the peaks and valleys of love.

One day, Tom meets Fay (Emilia Fox), whose parents have been together for 40 years. While Tom's life has had its fragmented relationships, Fay's been alienating herself from a meaningful love life. She's looking for a life that can parallel that of her parents — or at least the Disney-fied image she has of them and their relationship. Her day job involves research on mermaids, fantasy creatures as inaccessible as her ideal mate. If this sounds like a typical Hollywood-fuelled "opposites attract" story, rest assured there's a high degree of verisimilitude in the way these jaded lovebirds come together.

Tom and Fay may be set up like characters in a Meg Ryan romantic comedy, but Greenwood and Fox have the good sense to give them more depth. For her part, Mehta takes care to throw in a couple of curve balls that disrupt their blissful bond. It's also refreshing to watch a romantic comedy that has distinctly contemporary feel.

Situated in Toronto and backed by a slick Indo-funk soundtrack, the film showcases the city's progressive multi-cultural vibe, as well as a fair share of its overly sanitized coldness. What better place to showcase lonely souls working their ways through the subtle complexities of 21st-Century Western life?

Alas, the film is also hampered by story elements that defy logic. Fay, for example, knows all of Tom's ex-wives, thus knocking a few degrees off the Six Degrees Of Separation phenomenon. Several other scenes inject comedy into the story, but do so in an extremely obtuse manner.

Without these quirks, The Republic Of Love could've been a brilliant take on the traditional romantic comedy. As it stands, it's a flawed but still engaging film that should warm the hearts of more adventurous filmgoers.