‘A Love Song’ is a small film. It’s a slow-burn. It’s minimalistic. With hushed tones, it delivers a powerful message about loneliness, longing and grief. It requires some patience but it is well worth it. You get to see two talented character actors at the top of their game. Dale Dickey is best known for garnering an Independent Spirit Award for ‘Winter’s Bone.’ That was the indie film that put Jennifer Lawrence on the map. Wes Studi is a Native American actor known for roles as the “Stoic Indian” in films like ‘The Last of the Mohicans.’ Writer-director Max Walker-Silverman showcases these two acting legends in his debut film. ‘A Love Song’ is a moving character study of two individuals trying to make connection in the twilight of their lives.
Our heroine Faye (Dale Dickey) has her trailer parked along a beautiful lake overlooking the Colorado Rockies. She has a routine. She heats up a pot of coffee. She pulls crayfish from a lobster cage. Turns on her transistor radio and spins the dial to let fate find a good song. It always seems to find a cool bluegrass song. The film’s soundtrack is perfect including Michael Hurley’s “Be Kind To Me,” Dick Flood’s “The Man Who Walks Alone” and Valerie June’s “Slip Slide One By.” She eats on a card table. She seems to be waiting for something or someone. She seems content with her life but there is that longing for more.
We eventually find out that Faye wrote a childhood friend named Lito (Wes Studi). They both have loved and lost in their lives. She told him in the letter that she would be at this campsite by the water and to come visit her. It might be a casual invitation or it might be Faye’s way of rekindling a possible romance with a childhood friend. When Lito shows up with a bouquet of wildflowers, he fixes his hair like a teenager nervously going on a first date. That’s the beauty of this film. They are both old with weathered wrinkles on their face. Can a spark of romance reignite after all these years?
It is the interactions between these two veteran actors that is the real gem in this story. You can see the heartbreak of life on their faces. Lito’s friendly dog breaks the ice and loyally waits for his master close by. As their sparse conversation progresses, we learn they were friends throughout school and they both got married and are now widowed. With childlike excitement, they have fun playing a guitar duet of Michael Hurley’s “Be Kind to Me.”, eating ice cream and Lito taking a photo of Faye. “Reckon you can still love something that ain’t there no more? She asks. He replies, “I know you can. Don’t you?”
On the surface, ‘A Love Song’ seems like a simple tale. Like life, it’s a bit more complicated. Hollywood rarely showcases older actors in film today. That’s a shame. The younger generation can learn so much from our elders. This story is about two people trying to make a connection. Like the rough beauty of the Colorado landscape, wild flowers break through rocks to contrast their raw natural beauty. The two leads do the same. Their wrinkles show the sorrow they’ve experience in life but they still have a childlike excitement left to share with each other. ‘A Love Song’ is worth a visit to your local arthouse cinema.
