Liebestraum (1991) takes its title from the Franz Liszt composition; we hear a swing-era version playing on a turntable when a couple are murdered during their after-hours affair. The titular piece of music is one fetish object in director-writer Mike Figgis’ neo-noir narrative, but it is supplanted another fetish object – the building itself. A cast-iron building called The Ralston and abandoned for decades after the double-murder which took place in the 1950s. Nick (played by Kevin Anderson – resembling a baby-faced version of William L. Petersen’s Manhunter look) is visiting Elderstown to meet his dying biological mother (Kim Novak). He is also a professor of architecture who is drawn to The Ralston – it’s across the street from his hotel – and he bumps into an old colleague, Paul (Bill Pullman), who has been hired by the city to tear it down. Nick wants to write about the building before it’s gone and he gets permission to explore its interiors. He meets Paul’s wife, Jane (Pamela Gidley), who is a photographer and helps to document the building; there is also a clear attraction between them that mysteriously relates to the murder from the past. Similarly, Liebestraum the film is like that cast-iron building: it invites viewers to basically tour through its neo-noir architecture and soak up its style. This is a definite mood piece and follows in the tradition of Figgis’ first film, Stormy Monday. Your enjoyment will really depend on whether style and tone are enough for you, since the mystery isn’t strongly compelling on its own. It’s more about the atmosphere.
Liebestraum falls within the window of movies no doubt influenced by David Lynch (before Quentin Tarantino would be the go-to crime flick homage-king), even sharing a few Lynch costars (Gidley from Fire Walk With Me) and future costars (Pullman with slicked-back hair and yuppie menace prefigures his future Lost Highway role). Figgis composed the synth score which has that Angelo Badalamenti feeling, and if this was a TV series like Twin Peaks rather than a movie, it feels like more would be done with intriguing supporting characters like the sleazy alcoholic sheriff (Graham Beckel) or the eccentric, mysterious millionaire (Zach Grenier). The cinematography by Juan Ruiz Anchia is great: red neon lighting for the bar/diner at night, characters in dark shadows for interior scenes, and the inside of the building filled with mannequins and art deco design for maximum mysterious effect. Even if the movie builds to a certain ambiguity, its climax nicely brings together the past and the present, conveying things through image and music rather than dialogue. While not all of the film’s portent and intrigue pays off, I enjoyed wandering around its neon-noir vibe. Anderson and Gidley both have a certain vulnerability that makes them engaging beyond their looks; though I wanted more of Pullman in slick yuppie asshole mode. Streamed a copy uploaded onto YouTube. Recommended.
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