UK Shaun 10/10 for Philip Seymour Hoffman's performance.Love Liza isn't for everyone, but I enjoyed it. Maybe enjoy is the wrong word. The film tells the story of Wilson Joel (Hoffman) dealing with the tragic death of his wife (she blew her brains out). Wilson looses the plot, sniffs gas, and is advised to take time off from work (as a web designer). Hoffman plays the part so well, the film ultimately feels heavy, almost draining at times. There's other time throughout the film Wilson's mental state actually made me laugh. For example, there's a scene where Wilson goes to a radio controlled boat race event, and ends up jumping into the lake to go for a swim, all the while really not being aware of how bizarre his behaviour looks to others.

randerson370 The most useless, depressing movie ever! No hero. No tension. No humor. There is no reason to watch this movie...ever. Hoffman is OK I guess, but his acting in this film ranges from catatonic to asleep. I don't mind depressing movies necessarily (Happiness, Weather Man for example are good ones) but this is just a waste of time. Kathy Bates is under-utilized, the landlord from The Big Lebowski is OK. I mean, a main character you don't like and don't care about? Why? SPOILER: the suicide note that you have been waiting for the whole movie is dumb, and the ending just leaves you wondering why. Why to the whole bloody thing!

Jospeh Sonnenblick Love Liza is a brilliant study into the mind of a man who seemingly had everything in life, a good career, a house and a wife who he loved. Hoffmans portrayal of a man driven over the edge by his wife's suicide. Hoffman struggles with addiction and pain throughout the movie, he carried this film, the writing i thought was amazing, the direction was not that great, but the effort was there.Now with that said let's move to probably the greatest soundtrack i've ever heard, Jim O Rourke who i am a huge huge fan of gave this movie more life then it had, he put songs from his four albums on there and they just captivated me even more, his lyrics are poetry, his guitar playing again is poetry, and after meeting him many times, the man is exactly like his lyrics and music, weird and beautiful and also a bit out of his mind, songs like "Movie on the way down" and "Get a room" make this such a command movie, its one of my favorites and will continue to be for a very long time.

robinbirdjay If you are lucky enough to stumble upon this film as I did, your hooked before you know it. It is a movie that appeals to the voyeuristic nature of the human species. When watching it you almost feel like you rented a movie and someonemistakenly returned their home video instead of what you meant to rent. It is not a film that uses any of the usual methods to grab you. For instance sex, action or overt violence. Instead the appeal is in the reality of the story. You see immediately the pain Wilson feels and at no point question why he is going down the road he is. Of course all of this is due to Phillip Seymour Hoffman's incredible ability to be the character he is portraying. This story follows the slow descent into drug use, depression and despair by a man who recently and unexpectedly has lost the love of his life. A few other interesting characters are introduced, most importantly his mother-in-law played by the incredible Kathy Bates. There is a raw and very basic truth to this movie that anyone can see and empathise on the very least.