Who doesn’t want to fall in love? Probably people who have been jaded by it. Or it could be those whose relationships were the best thing that ever happened to them only to have their beloved taken away. Love Happens, which stars Jennifer Aniston and Aaron Eckhart, is about having a chance to love again, but past hurts cause the hearts to hesitate. Movie bloggers, let's watch and enjoy a romantic movie perfect for your Valentines week, post a comment below with your blog and email, if you want to join in a special movie premiere event tomorrow at 7pm in Robinsons Galeria Cinema 2.
(read more details about the movie below)
Love Happens is the directorial debut of Brandon Camp (Dragonfly, TV series John Doe), who has also dealt with loss when his mother died. “There was denial at first; I didn’t really feel anything at all for about a year. All of a sudden, it hit me one day and there was just a flood for six months. I found out that there was something very interesting in the process of grieving and what people go through.”
Co-writing with Camp is Mike Thompson (Dragonfly, TV series John Doe). For this project, Thompson explains, “We asked, ‘What do you do and how do you react in the aftermath of loss?’ We tried to make light of some of these existential questions and the more absurd aspects of grieving and death—not get mired in the maudlin aspects of it… Our objective was to make a movie about transformation and light, hope and joy, and redemption and rebirth.”
To play the lead roles, Aaron Eckhart and Jennifer Aniston were really the filmmakers’ first choice. Eckhart liked the screenplay for Love Happens and signed on to the project. Of his interest in joining, he says: “I loved the romance part of the script with Jennifer Aniston’s character, Eloise…. I hope the audience will find the romance to be fun and energetic, sweet and charming. I think they’ll find the grieving part of it to be heartfelt, sincere and touching. I feel that we have an obligation to treat grief and those who are grieving with a lot of respect, compassion and empathy.”
Aniston has been chosen to play Eloise because, according to Camp, “Jennifer is radiant on screen and she’s so watchable. Eloise is a character with whom you never know what you’re going to get. She writes on walls, pretends to be deaf, is quirky and eccentric, and has this girl-next-door quality about her. It doesn’t feel forced with Jennifer…that human notion of being just a little left of center, being a little bit different. As much as she’s a movie star, she’s also so relatable and accessible.”
