Sadilova gives as a little piece of Russia in every bite.
Sharing in the same theme realms as the prior sister Russian film I last saw in House of Fools, this is about the a woman who wants to be swept off their feet by a princess charming. Perhaps Larisa Sadilova’s With Love, Lilly is not supposed to be sympathetic and flattering to its central character as in the instant bout of happiness in a My Big Fat Greek Wedding, but it’s the hope versus the insurmountable disappointment that keeps the viewer’s fingers crossed and which makes us care about the plight of our bruised and forgotten hero –a middle-aged vodka-drinking with cellulite in a dire quest for some male company. Nestled away in a place where woman are 20 years behind in the fashion department and inside a contemporary Russia on the brinks of collapse, we have a story about a hen searching for her rooster. Marina Zubanova’s acting debut as Lilly contains a sort of unglamorous glow, where her uncertainty of the character’s destiny is felt as if it is stamped across her heart and not her forehead. Sadilova plucks away at her unlucky in love girl kind of like how the chickens in the plant pluck away at human hands who enter their cages. This is an accountant of true despair, where picture frames of the unattainable and the burden of grumpy grandfathers suppresses the spirits of the beloved Lilly, but it never makes her heart sink. The change in local meets fairly well with the changes in the character’s mental climate and for a film of a moderate budget value there are even some nice touches such as uncomplicated shots with some narrative overlap such as a close-up sequence that shows two pairs of feet in a love making session with a Dear John letter being read out in a narrative that make us forget about the duller moments. Zubanova contributes immensely to the quirkiness of her character, its not only what she does as in her childlike games, but how she walks around a puddle or how she laughs at a joke or how she handles a chicken’s foot that makes her character such a delight. At times the film can seem to just be following the motions and leading up to a not so surprising fate, but Sadilova makes us wait up until the end to relief us of what seems her unfortunate doom. With Love, Lilly is perhaps a little to gloomy and rough around the edges, but some deadpan humor restores our faith in the protagonist’s fate and in small doses Sadilova unravels a charming little piece which is easily watchable.
Viewed in original Russian language with English subtitles.
