The Loveless (Breakdown) (1982)
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89% of critics liked it
(9 reviews) -
55% of users liked it
(471 ratings)
The period biker flick The Loveless marks the feature debut of both actor Willem Dafoe and writer/director Kathryn Bigelow (Strange Days). Bigelow co-wrote and co-directed the film with Monty Montgomery, who would go on to produce Wild at Heart and The Portrait of a Lady. Dafoe plays Vance, a stoic,… More The period biker flick The Loveless marks the feature debut of both actor Willem Dafoe and writer/director Kathryn Bigelow (Strange Days). Bigelow co-wrote and co-directed the film with Monty Montgomery, who would go on to produce Wild at Heart and The Portrait of a Lady. Dafoe plays Vance, a stoic, leather-clad biker who rides into a small Southern town and to wait for some other bikers. Their plan is to travel on to Daytona for some racing, but they have to stick around the little truck stop town for a while to get one of their bikes repaired. Vance flirts a bit with Augusta (Liz Gans), a widowed waitress. She's the only local who's friendly to him and his gang. Contemplating living in such a depressed, isolated place, Vance tells her, "I think your husband had the right idea." While the bikes are worked on, Vance and the gang, including the abrasive Davis (rockabilly musician Robert Gordon, who also composed the film's soundtrack) and his girlfriend, Debbie (Tina Lhotsky), spend the day in town, to the chagrin of the conservative residents. Vance hooks up with Telena (Marin Kanter), the rebellious teenage daughter of a rich redneck. Their little tryst creates even more tension, and the day ends with violence. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi
- Directed By
- Kathryn Bigelow, Monty Montgomery
- Written By
- Kathryn Bigelow, Monty Montgomery
- Genres
- Drama, Action & Adventure, Art House & International
R,
- In Theaters
- Jan 1, 1983 Limited
- Studio
- Atlantic Releasing
Critic Reviews
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Geoff Andrew, Time Out
At times the perversely slow beat of each scene can irritate, but that's a reasonable price for the film's super-saturated atmosphere.
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Janet Maslin, New York Times
Its evocation of tough-guy glamour is ridiculously stilted. And it regards the past with absolutely no perspective or wit.
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Fernando F. Croce, CinePassion
An excoriation of Reagan-era nostalgia for the Fifties
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Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
A strange, but compelling amalgam of art film and homage to the American International Pictures biker flicks of the 1960s.
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Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
Bigelow's first feature, co-written and co-directed with Monty Montgomery, is a nihilistic meditation on 1950s biker flicks, featuring Willem Dafoe in his first screen role.
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Cast
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Willem Dafoe
as Vance
- Robert Gordon
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Marin Kanter
as Telena
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J. Don Ferguson
as Tarver
- Kenny Call
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Liz Gans
as Augusta
- Bob Hannah
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Danny Rosen
as Ricky
- Tina Lhotsky
- John King
