Movie Review: Love Me (2012, Anchor Bay)

(...referring to the characters in this movie) People!! Get out of the darkness...get out, and get some sun, PLEASE!!! Granted, this viewer hasn't been regularly privy to youthful, school-entrenched teen movies, since the colorful, albeit angst-filled days of the '80's; however, at least things were relatively bright & vividly lit back then, and the ones that favored the dark motif...dark clothes, dark rooms, dark attitudes...were relegatedly monikered the outcasts, the misfits. Perhaps it's merely the matter of this viewer having gotten way too old, but if actual teen life today is anything close to being as style-reflective, as in the derivitively slick and quaint little 2012 mystery/thriller, "Love Me", then I suppose that the younger generation these days has, for the most part, expressively and outwardly embraced the darkness within themselves, and what was once considered 'outcast' and 'misfit', is now the standard.

That been said, shall we shift gears, and examine an unchanging constant, no matter what generation is focused upon...an unswervingly steadfast constant, being that of 'true love'?? Ah, yes...true love. Two people finding that certain perfect chemistry...that certain, instinctive, unexplainable, plus-to-minus attraction, which inexplicably and compellingly carries them off to an indescribably intangible level, that's indelibly euphoric, when it happens...or rather, when it is resignedly let to happen. Life's classic unsolveable riddle, wrapped in a mystery, shrouded in enigma. And yet, tortuously conflicting and repellant, yet strangely and irresistibly alluring, when an element of mystery...of darkness...nay, even of danger, is introduced. In the case of "Love Me", we're talking deeply entrenched shades of deception...and murder...

Sylvia Potter wants ever so much to find true love...cliched and unrealistic, the kind of love only found in the dusty and aged films, which she screens at the town's hole-in-the-wall movie house, where she works. At one time, she thought that she could have stumbled upon such love with her childhood friend and eternal touchstone, Harry, who runs the local comic book shop, and in fact, himself inspiring to a career in comic book artistry; unfortunately, although Harry underliningly continues to maintain a devotion to her, Sylvia never really felt comfortable in fully returning such affection, to the extent other than what mere friends might consider...in her eyes, preferring a more brotherly-sisterly relationship. Muddling along with her circle of close and supportive friends...all rich kids, attending a posh private school...Sylvia's longing for the right guy, given a measure of initial animosity, finally appears to have found merit and potential, as she blindly and breathlessly falls for the new student transfer...Lucas, a quiet, handsome rogue of a young man, with a compelling air of darkness and mystery about him, irresistibly evident to Sylvia, even without knowing anything more about him, than merely that. Of course, this dark and enigmatic newcomer indelibly raises red flags in the suspicious eyes of Sylvia's friends, and as such, they fruitlessly try to convince her not to get too involved, especially in the midst of an ongoing police investigation, involving the disappearance of a local school girl, some three months previous...an investigation, which has shaken the confidence and security of the town's populace. As the investigation progresses, and becomes more invasive, it becomes more & more evident that Lucas seems to be, at the very least, suspected of being a part of these dark proceedings...which gives fearful cause for Sylvia to repel...back off and wonder...who and what Lucas actually is...

Storywise, a trite, contrived and well-trod-upon plot line lies herein, with an overall ease of predictability, and an almost familiar aura, not that far removed from the headlines; the clues to the mystery at hand...readily scattered, easily pegged upon (...a couple times, I was almost reminded of one of those old vaudevillian stage plays, where the characters take a notably brief pause in dialog, in order to 'wink, wink' the audience into acknowledging the clues), and the actual perpetrator of the crimes depicted, easily identifiable...despite the writer's and filmmakers attempt at a 'not everything is as it seems' verve, to the events presented. However, it is the performances here, which carry this material above the seemingly standard and familiar feel of the proceedings...performances that are respectably adequete and effective, with a distinctly slick, albeit minimal and gloomy production level that never really rises above that of a wayward WB, made-for-cable melodrama. Director Rick Bota makes effective use of the moderately compelling, albeit by-the-numbers script, his young performers, and the gloomy, atmospheric setting...with an OK measure of viewing satisfaction, which almost makes one forget that he was once arduously tasked with reviving the 'Hellraiser' series, with three dismally-conceived and ill-received direct-to-video entries to that notorious horror franchise...

Lindsey Shaw (...of TV's "10 Things I Hate About You" and "Pretty Little Liars"), as Sylvia, is probably the most significantly intriguing of the three lead performances, at least from a character-based artistic point of view; Her embrace and subscription to classic silent cinema...as evident of her choice of films, which her character lovingly screens at the cinema, where she works...is as eclectically unique as her passion for creating and detailing shoebox houses...the full of which most assuredly influences her inner passions, as well. Lucas, as solemnly portrayed by actor Jamie Johnston (...known best for his role in the 'Degrassi' TV franchise), exhues a compelling portrait of frustration, in a dire situation, measurably beyond his control...resignedly tragic, yet chivalrously heroic...apologetically compelled to uphold his secrets, and air of mystery...amongst other veiled and underlining motivations...for the sake of finding and embracing true love, himself. And finally, there's Jean-Luc Bilodeau (...of TV's "Kyle XY") as Harry...spurned, feeling as invisible as one of the superheroes he pencil-wrought conceives of, protective...uh, perhaps a little OBSESSIVELY protective of a childhood friend, with whom he'd rather be much more than. The middleman, so to speak, in a hapless situation, which he has little to no control over...or HAS he??

A derivative, oft-told tale of love and mystery and tragedy and intrigue...rendered countless times before; in the case of "Love Me", it's the coolly sultry and uniquely contemporary approach, in the way things & events unfold, and are laid out herein, which make this little trifle of a film, something a bit more than a mere contrived time waster, and thusly...eh, worth the look.....