Love in the Time of Cholera

Based on the novel by Gabriel García Márquez, Love in the Time of Cholera follows hopeless romantic Florentino Ariza (Javier Bardem) as he spends a lifetime pining for lost love Fermina Urbino (Giovanna Mezzogiorno). Though the film’s two stars are undoubtedly quite effective in their respective roles, Love in the Time of Cholera ultimately comes off as a campy mess that presumably has little in common with Márquez’s acclaimed work. Director Mike Newell, working from Ronald Harwood’s screenplay, has infused the proceedings with a melodramatic and downright overwrought sensibility that’s reflected in virtually every aspect of the movie, with the almost laughably garish sets and ineffective supporting performances (eg John Leguizamo’s scenery-chewing turn as Fermina’s father) certainly the most overt examples of this. Such problems are exacerbated by the presence of several questionable stylistic and thematic elements, including the ridiculous manner in which Fermina initially brushes off Florentino (after making him wait for years, she casually labels their would-be relationship nothing more than an “illusion”). After the time-shifting shenanigans of the first hour, Love in the Time of Cholera ultimately morphs into a slow-moving, sporadically-interesting-but-mostly-dull drama – with the final straw arriving in the form of the hopelessly uninvolving conclusion, which hardly manages to pack the emotional punch it’s clearly been designed to evoke.

** out of ****