The Love That Never Dies – We Saw the 2K Blu-ray Edition

Gilles Lellouche pursued the dream of adapting Neville Thompson's novel for 17 years. With The Love That Never Dies, he shifts the action from 1980s Ireland to northern France, telling the story of the tormented passion between Jackie and Clotaire, a love born in high school and immediately broken by his (unjust) imprisonment, only to re-emerge amidst memories, regrets, and intertwined destinies.

The director stages 2h40 of exuberant cinema, visually rich, but often a prisoner of its own ambition. Lellouche seems to want to tout court "make cinema", citing Scorsese, Coppola, or Anderson, without, however, managing to fuse style with true narrative strength. The result is a work that alternates moments of intensity with bloated sequences, almost musical clips enhanced by '80s-'90s hits, unable to truly convey the power of the absolute love the film claims to celebrate.

A True and (Im)possible Love

The cast delivers conviction, but the characters remain largely caricatural, with the exception of Jackie, who is more multifaceted. If the intent was to tell a visceral love story, what remains instead is the feeling of an overloaded melodrama, passionate but disordered, more noisy than emotional.

Shot digitally (Arri Alexa LF) at an unspecified resolution, whatever the starting master, this 2K edition on a dual-layer BD-50 is excellent. Original image format 2.39:1 (1920 x 1080/24fps), AVC/MPEG-4 encoding. Remarkable rendering even on large screens, solidity, rich colors, and excellent black depth, with precise detail even on background elements; it's difficult to perceive encoding limitations, and grain is not intrusive.

Audio quality is very good for both the Italian and French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 tracks (always 16 bit), offering excellent presence for dialogue as well as echoes, gunshots, and support from the rear channels. Overall, a dynamic listening experience that enhances the narration and the stunning vintage pop soundtrack, especially when played through a proper home theater system. Listen to the original to experience a completely different mood from the direct-recorded dialogue.

As for extras, only the trailer. DVD(9) copy included.