Amour Infinity

It must be hard to put one's heart and soul into an independent feature, watch it struggle through festivals, then finally see release shortly after the debut of two big studio films with uncomfortably similar plots. Such is the case with Jerry LaMothe's debut film, which feels like The Brothers meets Sweet November. Oh well, that's what you get for going with such overused themes as male bonding and the lover who's dying from a secret illness. LaMothe wrote and directed, and also stars as Derek, a young man taking responsibility for his life by raising his two-year-old son. Recently fired from his job, he maintains a bitter feud with the child's mother, Tasha (Stacy Hill), which results in many heated confrontations that the child seems remarkably unfazed by (LaMothe might just have discovered the world's most sedate child actor). While picking the kid up from the hospital, Derek runs into Amour (Jamie Burton-Oare), who, as her name suggests, is the perfect love interest. She's also secretly dying of cancer. Most everything that ensues is predictable, until Derek inexplicably dumps her (thanks to a plot point that makes no sense whatsoever). That said, the film is nicely shot and edited, and apart from the occasional forced line reading, the actors are all very natural and real. LaMothe doesn't exactly look like a romantic lead (think of a 28-year-old with the face of Delroy Lindo as he looks today), but that only makes him seem more authentic.