Liebestraum (Mike Figgis, 1991) is certainly one of those types of films that stays with you for hours after watching it. It is most certainly better with a second viewing after all the intricacies of the plot have been clarified, as well-illustrated by the IMDb reviewer PopeyeBarrnumb, as getting enjoyment of this film relies on acquiring an appreciation of its ambience.
The first hour of the film's running time maintains the viewer's engagement because the editing is smooth, and its pace is seamless. Nick (Kevin Anderson) does not have his driver's license due to trauma (or fear) regarding his father being killed in a car accident, and we later learn his father's cause of death to be different. We see Nick's reliance on others for transportation in his arrival to Elderstown via train, and around town via cabs and a truck, as well as a cop car. This also forces Nick to take advantage of the environment in close proximity to his downtown hotel which gives an intimacy to the film's ambience. Many of the scenes are within the hotel, the Ralston Building across the street from the hotel, and Schmidt's Bar & Café that he frequents which is slightly reminiscent in tone of the 1942 painting 'Nighthawks' by Edward Hopper. The diverse usage of these spaces, along with the Ralston Memorial Hospital and the party at Paul (Bill Pullman) and Jane's (Pamela Gidley) house, engages our interest, and all the characters are clearly introduced in these scenes.
Where the film starts to meander is at the one-hour mark, as the spark of the screenplay fades primarily with the absence of Paul as he is called away on a business trip and returns much later for only thirty seconds of screen time. This eliminates any opportunities for interesting conflicts between him, Nick, and Jane, as well as a balance of temperament which would've given the screenplay some much needed liveliness. The second half of the film also includes an overabundance of scenes of Nick and Jane re-entering the Ralston Building to walk around and take pictures, along with the constant number of scenes of Nick and Jane making out or having sex, as well as scenes involving Nick waking up from dreams. At this point, the film loses its immersive quality through the repetition of these scenes and, thus, the viewer's engagement.
Another major problem is that the majority of the characters, particularly Nick and Jane, are stone-faced throughout the entire film. Trauma appears to be a central theme of the film, which includes Jane's experience with Paul's infidelity and Jane's and Nick's family issues, and the director (Mike Figgis) may be attempting to have the actors convey their characters' trauma through stone-faced demeanours. Whichever the case, this translates onscreen as a relentlessly catatonic acting style that does not make for characters that maintain the viewer's interest or are even believable at times. The problem isn't even about a film with characters that are one-dimensional; there are no dimensions to the characters whatsoever. Whenever Nick approaches another character in the film, whether it be someone he knows or someone he's meeting for the first time, he stares at them as if he's on tranquilizers. I have seen Kevin Anderson give good performances in other films and the lack of support in coaching the actors to liven up their performances lies with the director. Another film with this type of problem where the director is so selfishly focused on making the film beautiful, to the point where it almost becomes a vanity piece with poor communication between the director and actors, is 'Mister Buddwing' (Delbert Mann, 1966). This film has beautiful cinematography and ambience and is directed by the wonderfully talented Delbert Mann but is badly hampered by a disappointing acting performance by James Garner who is a capable actor as evidenced by many of his other films. 'Liebestraum' suffers from the same issue where it appears evident to the viewer that the actors appear lost.
In addition to this, I do agree with other IMDb reviews that the second half of the film could've also given more for Lillian (Kim Novak) to do. Perhaps one of the multiple scenes where Nick goes to the Ralston Building could've been omitted for Lillian to have a flashback sequence. Kim Novak was 58-years-old at the time of this film and still a beautiful woman who could've easily passed for a younger woman in some sort of flashback sequence. Although I appreciate that she appeared in this film and her performance is fine, it is a shame that, to date, it is currently the last film of her career. She is beautiful in every film she has done, and it's unfortunate that there aren't more scenes where her character could show more dimension.
Overall, the story is unique and interesting, the cinematography and soundtrack quite beautiful, and the actors are capable. However, with more liveliness to the screenplay, and screen time afforded to supporting characters in the second half of the running time, the film could've sustained its engaging, immersive quality that's present in the first half of the running time. A film with dark tones and themes of death and trauma can still convey the effectiveness of these elements without having acting performances that translate their characters onscreen as being perpetually dead of emotion. I'm well aware this film isn't a comedy, but it doesn't need to be relentlessly and overbearingly catatonic to be dark. I still recommend seeing this film but consider seeing it twice after the full plot is understood in order to maximize the enjoyment of the elements that showcase its uniqueness and beauty.
The first hour of the film's running time maintains the viewer's engagement because the editing is smooth, and its pace is seamless. Nick (Kevin Anderson) does not have his driver's license due to trauma (or fear) regarding his father being killed in a car accident, and we later learn his father's cause of death to be different. We see Nick's reliance on others for transportation in his arrival to Elderstown via train, and around town via cabs and a truck, as well as a cop car. This also forces Nick to take advantage of the environment in close proximity to his downtown hotel which gives an intimacy to the film's ambience. Many of the scenes are within the hotel, the Ralston Building across the street from the hotel, and Schmidt's Bar & Café that he frequents which is slightly reminiscent in tone of the 1942 painting 'Nighthawks' by Edward Hopper. The diverse usage of these spaces, along with the Ralston Memorial Hospital and the party at Paul (Bill Pullman) and Jane's (Pamela Gidley) house, engages our interest, and all the characters are clearly introduced in these scenes.
Where the film starts to meander is at the one-hour mark, as the spark of the screenplay fades primarily with the absence of Paul as he is called away on a business trip and returns much later for only thirty seconds of screen time. This eliminates any opportunities for interesting conflicts between him, Nick, and Jane, as well as a balance of temperament which would've given the screenplay some much needed liveliness. The second half of the film also includes an overabundance of scenes of Nick and Jane re-entering the Ralston Building to walk around and take pictures, along with the constant number of scenes of Nick and Jane making out or having sex, as well as scenes involving Nick waking up from dreams. At this point, the film loses its immersive quality through the repetition of these scenes and, thus, the viewer's engagement.
Another major problem is that the majority of the characters, particularly Nick and Jane, are stone-faced throughout the entire film. Trauma appears to be a central theme of the film, which includes Jane's experience with Paul's infidelity and Jane's and Nick's family issues, and the director (Mike Figgis) may be attempting to have the actors convey their characters' trauma through stone-faced demeanours. Whichever the case, this translates onscreen as a relentlessly catatonic acting style that does not make for characters that maintain the viewer's interest or are even believable at times. The problem isn't even about a film with characters that are one-dimensional; there are no dimensions to the characters whatsoever. Whenever Nick approaches another character in the film, whether it be someone he knows or someone he's meeting for the first time, he stares at them as if he's on tranquilizers. I have seen Kevin Anderson give good performances in other films and the lack of support in coaching the actors to liven up their performances lies with the director. Another film with this type of problem where the director is so selfishly focused on making the film beautiful, to the point where it almost becomes a vanity piece with poor communication between the director and actors, is 'Mister Buddwing' (Delbert Mann, 1966). This film has beautiful cinematography and ambience and is directed by the wonderfully talented Delbert Mann but is badly hampered by a disappointing acting performance by James Garner who is a capable actor as evidenced by many of his other films. 'Liebestraum' suffers from the same issue where it appears evident to the viewer that the actors appear lost.
In addition to this, I do agree with other IMDb reviews that the second half of the film could've also given more for Lillian (Kim Novak) to do. Perhaps one of the multiple scenes where Nick goes to the Ralston Building could've been omitted for Lillian to have a flashback sequence. Kim Novak was 58-years-old at the time of this film and still a beautiful woman who could've easily passed for a younger woman in some sort of flashback sequence. Although I appreciate that she appeared in this film and her performance is fine, it is a shame that, to date, it is currently the last film of her career. She is beautiful in every film she has done, and it's unfortunate that there aren't more scenes where her character could show more dimension.
Overall, the story is unique and interesting, the cinematography and soundtrack quite beautiful, and the actors are capable. However, with more liveliness to the screenplay, and screen time afforded to supporting characters in the second half of the running time, the film could've sustained its engaging, immersive quality that's present in the first half of the running time. A film with dark tones and themes of death and trauma can still convey the effectiveness of these elements without having acting performances that translate their characters onscreen as being perpetually dead of emotion. I'm well aware this film isn't a comedy, but it doesn't need to be relentlessly and overbearingly catatonic to be dark. I still recommend seeing this film but consider seeing it twice after the full plot is understood in order to maximize the enjoyment of the elements that showcase its uniqueness and beauty.