Featured Blu-ray / DVD Review: Love Me

January 14, 2013

Love Me - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray

Love Me comes out on DVD and Blu-ray this week, and I wouldn't be surprised if most people reading this review have never heard of it. There are no reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, no official site (at least not that I could find) and very little online presence. I probably would have have given the film a pass when offered a chance to review it, but it stars Lindsey Shaw, who is most famous for Ned's Declassified School Guide and was also in 10 Things I Hate About You, which I previously reviewed. I liked her in that, so when offered the chance to review this film, I said yes, even though I knew nothing else about the movie. On the plus side, this does mean I get to go into the movie with almost no expectations.

The Movie

The film begins with us watching a teenage girl, whom we later learn is Melissa Kennedy, as she walks down the street. She's being followed by someone in a car, someone she clearly doesn't want to deal with. After she runs away from the guy in the car, she sees something that makes her screams and the next we see of her is on a Missing poster.

We flash forward three months and are introduced to Sylvia Potter (Lindsey Shaw). She goes to a fancy preps school and has a close group of friends, including Dayln (Kaitlyn Wong) and Harry (Jean-Luc Bilodeau). Although Harry doesn't want to be just her friend. Sylvia is looking for fireworks, which is part of her artistic temperament. (She spends her time making dioramas of old movies.) She finds the fireworks she's looking for when she runs into Lucas Green (Jamie Johnston), or to be more accurate, trips over him. They trade insults, but there's an instant connection when they meet. The next day, he even gives Sylvia a mixed CD. Harry doesn't like this development, not only because he's in love with Sylvia, but also because Lucas has a bit of a dark past. This includes getting into trouble at his old school. Dayln is also not happy with her new infatuation, because they used to go to the same school and she later admits, they used to date. Despite these warnings, Sylvia and Lucas begin a relationship. It's touching and even though there are some hurdles. He's incredibly rich and her mother needs to work two jobs just to pay the tuition. But maybe they will be able to overcome all of this...

At least that seems possible, till Silvia learns Lucas is the lead suspect in Melissa's disappearance.

Love Me is a relatively good teenage murder mystery movie. There are some really strong parts of the movie, including the lead performance by Lindsey Shaw and the chemistry between her and Jamie Johnston isn't bad. For that matter, the overall acting is good and story is well done, for the most part. However, I think there are a little too many clues given away too early on. I'm not going to spoil the ending, but less than five minutes into the movie a piece of information is given in a conversation, and then really quickly dropped. It's clear this is an important clue, too important. About ten minutes later, I paused the movie to make something warm to drink and while I was waiting for the kettle to boil, I figured out the entire plot based on 20 seconds of dialogue. There are still some tense moments and overall it is engaging, but it isn't a major success. It's worth checking out, but the replay value is limited.

The Extras

There are two featurettes on the DVD and Blu-ray, starting with a seven-minute behind-the-scenes / making of featurette and finishing with six minutes of the cast cracking up and talking about the fun the cast had on the set.

The technical presentation is merely good. It is a low budget movie filmed in Canada (It was made by the same company that makes Todd and the Book of Pure Evil, which I previously reviewed)). Because of that, you can't expect a visual feast. However, there are no flaws in the transfer either. The level of detail is good, colors are strong, blacks are deep, relatively speaking. The 5.1 audio track features clear dialogue and good separation, but it isn't a complicated track.

On the plus side, the Blu-ray is actually cheaper than the DVD, at least it is on Amazon.com at the moment.

The Verdict

Enough of Love Me works that it is worth checking out, but there are enough flaws that it limits the replay value. Neither the DVD nor the Blu-ray have a lot of extras, but if you are interested in buying the Blu-ray is cheaper.


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Filed under: Video Review, Love Me