When Will I Be Loved (2004)

32% of critics liked it
(71 reviews)
30% of users liked it
(3,026 ratings)

Directed by James Toback, the erotic drama When Will I Be Loved? revolves around Vera, the debutante girlfriend (Neve Campbell) of a fast-talking hustler (Frederick Weller) who is on the verge of making millions through a big-money gambling venture. Feeling undervalued, Vera explores her sexuality… More Directed by James Toback, the erotic drama When Will I Be Loved? revolves around Vera, the debutante girlfriend (Neve Campbell) of a fast-talking hustler (Frederick Weller) who is on the verge of making millions through a big-money gambling venture. Feeling undervalued, Vera explores her sexuality through whatever means she can think of, including explicit discussions with a potential employer, picking up random men, and videotaping steamy trysts with her female lover. When Ford (Weller) proposes that Vera spend the night with Italian media mogul Count Tommaso (Dominic Chianese), who is willing to put up 100,000 dollars for the occasion, Vera concocts a scheme to show both men what her true worth really is. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 30 min.
Directed By: James Toback
Written By: James Toback
Genres: Drama

In Theaters: Jun 6, 2004 Wide
On DVD: Jan 25, 2005
Studio: IFC Films

Critic Reviews

Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
The slapdash plot, paper-thin characters, misogynist undertones, and mechanical crosscutting are all soft-core standbys.
Andrew Sarris, New York Observer
Mr. Weller's Ford Welles attains a new extreme of self-loathing on Mr. Toback's part: This compulsive chain-talker has even less charm, substance, dignity or wit than any of his self-hating predecessors.
Ruthe Stein, San Francisco Chronicle
Another art film that's more pretentious than it needs to be.
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe
Most atrocious movies build into their badness, as lacks of talent, ideas, self-confidence, or a total hatred of an audience, are revealed. This one gets it out of the way up front and never looks back.
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
Like a jazz solo that touches familiar themes on its way to a triumphant and unexpected conclusion.
Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post
Collapses under the weight of its own pretension, a victim of misogyny trying to pass itself off as female sexual empowerment.
Joshua Rothkopf, Time Out New York
Not in the foreseeable future, that's when, assuming your name is James Toback and you insist on making phonily provocative movies.
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
Many viewers will be turned off by this depraved look inside the darkest corners of one filmmaker's psyche, but I found it refreshing and quite daring.
Christopher Zinsli, Film Threat
Too pointless to be artsy and too decorous to be sexy.
Joe Utichi, FilmFocus
Tries hard to be endearingly eccentric but crashes in a web of its own convolution.
Matthew Turner, ViewLondon
Campbell is clearly having a great time with such a duplicitous, multi-layered character and as a result, it's her sexiest performance to date.
Matthew Leyland, BBC
If you're looking for something hip, brisk and sexy, then this is a pretty decent proposal.
Rich Cline, Shadows on the Wall
Despite the fact that the central character is a very strong woman, the film is essentially a male fantasy.
Stuart Klawans, Nation
[Don't] mistake it for anything new.
Mark Palermo, Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
The most disturbing aspect is that Vera's selfish introversion doesn't require dramatic exaggeration; the extent of her greed is common enough to almost pass unnoticed.
Sarah Chauncey, Reel.com
This is a pretentious, borderline misogynistic film that seems to have grown out of Toback's fantasy that when he's '70, he'll still be able to bed beautiful women
Ed Gonzalez, Slant Magazine
Jeffrey Lyons may be quoted on the front cover, but a real critic (ahem) is quoted on the back.
Pablo Villaca, Cinema em Cena
As desnecessárias participações especiais irritam um pouco, mas as fascinantes conversas entre Vera e seus admiradores salvam o filme.
Phoebe Flowers, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
The story behind this deeply explicit drama often falls short -- in fact, it's arguable if there even is a story -- but the quality of its words keeps it fresh and compelling.
Brent Simon, Entertainment Today
Careening and indulgent... a triple-loose oration on gender, power, wealth and age that asserts its points without ever owning them.

Read all 21 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

E.J. B

Compelling and pretensious, but Neve Campbell gives one of her best performances.
Walter M

[font=Century Gothic]In "When Will I Be Loved", Ford(Frederick Weller) is a two-bit hustler who sees a chance to make it into the big time by using his upper class girlfriend, Vera(Neve Campbell), as bait. Count Tommaso Lupo(Dominic Chianese), a billionaire communications… More
[font=Century Gothic]In "When Will I Be Loved", Ford(Frederick Weller) is a two-bit hustler who sees a chance to make it into the big time by using his upper class girlfriend, Vera(Neve Campbell), as bait. Count Tommaso Lupo(Dominic Chianese), a billionaire communications mogul, is infatuated with Vera and by introducing the count to her, Ford hopes that he will make a gift to her of about $100,000.[/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]With "When Will I Be Loved", James Toback again makes a movie about his pet obsessions - sex, Mike Tyson, more sex, relations between blacks and whites, group sex in Central Park, classical music and lesbian sex.(None of which is bad in itself but Toback could definitely be helped by taking courses in screenwriting and feminist theory.) Here, he spends half the movie introducing two-dimensional characters before doing a possible knockoff of "Indecent Proposal".(Have not seen it. Do not want to see it.) But through all of that, there is a very good performance by Dominic Chianese and one pure moment of insight that sheds much needed light onto one character's motivations.[/font]
Jim W

Neve Campbell plays a sexy woman in the city who tried of being neglected by her boyfriend (Frederick Weller from Plain Sight). He's always scheming on new ways to make money. He's also a cheating low life. Campbell's character cheats too but I didn't really blame… More
Neve Campbell plays a sexy woman in the city who tried of being neglected by her boyfriend (Frederick Weller from Plain Sight). He's always scheming on new ways to make money. He's also a cheating low life. Campbell's character cheats too but I didn't really blame her and I had no idea why she was even with him. The movie spends the first half of the movie showing that they live two totally different lives. Classical music is played when she is shown and rap is played when he is shown. It does work at first but then it switches back and forth between them for a whole half hour of rap and classical music being switched back and forth..... So, that was a bit annoying. We get it, they live two totally different lives. While Fred Weller was just annoying which made me glad she wanted to double cross his character. He deserved it, he was a jerk. I don't know why Roger Ebert gave the movie for stars but he was the only person. I guess he was thinking with his hormones since Campbell is shown nude in the shower for the first 3 minutes. She is sexy and should be in more movies but she is way above this movie. She is at least the only good thing about it. No, not because they show her naked, well not only anyway lol. She also gives a good performance.
Chosen 7

Interesting film, Neve Campbell puts on a great performance in this enigmatic independent film.