The Best Movie You’ve Never Seen
A Love Song for Bobby Long has had me in a chokehold since I found it at my local library in 2005. A Love Song for Bobby Long is a story about grief, regret, love, and and deceit. It is based on the novel, Off Magazine Street by Ronald Everette Capps. Ronald is the father of Greyson Capps, who’s music is featured in the film and plays an important role. A Love Song for Bobby Long was directed by Shainee Gabel, who is a Louisiana native and it really shows. More on that later. The film stars John Travolta, Scarlett Johansson, Gabriel Macht, & Deborah Kara Unger.
Every cast member shines in this film. Every performance delivered is emotional and memorable. Even a young Warren Cole (Yellowjackets), who was on screen for maybe five minutes, delivers the memorable line, “You ready for a drink, cause I’m ready”. The film was shot on location in New Orleans and Gretna, Louisiana and had a wide release on January 21st, 2005, by Lions Gate Films.
“Acting deals with very delicate emotions. It is not putting up a mask. Each time an actor acts, he does not hide; he exposes himself.” – Rodney Dangerfield
As I stated before, every actor in A Love Song for Bobby Long, delivers a stand out performance. No big I’s and little U’s here. Every time I watch this film I find a new detail in the actors faces that adds to the story. On my last viewing, the expression and emotion on Deborah Kara Unger’s face grabbed me and in that moment, I understood everything that wasn’t being said. That’s just one of many great moments of the performances. Everything from exchanged nervous glances and smiles of contentment to displays of anger and disgust are displayed with depth and feeling.
“Louisiana in September was like an obscene phone call from nature. The air was heavy with perfume of the night-blooming cereus and other tropical plants.” – Tom Robbins
The Louisiana setting is beautiful, breathtaking and plays an active role in the story. It is as if you can feel the sun in summer, the cold in winter, and smell the spring air through the screen. In scenes where rain is present, I can almost feel the air between each rain drop. Then there is the street scenes with the homes, businesses, and the cemetery.
Each one shows the not often seen side of Louisiana. Here we get to see homes with their rich histories written all over them as well as lush gardens and fields. A notable scene is when Johansson is walking atop of a hill and the camera spins a bit around her as the wind blows her hair slightly as the sun light hits her face in just the right way.
“We dance even if there’s no radio. We drink at funerals. We talk too much and laugh too loud and live too large, and frankly, we’re suspicious of others who don’t.” – Chris Rose
As mentioned earlier, Greyson Capps fills an important role. He is joined by the likes of Theresa Andersson, Thalia Zedek, Los Lobos, and even John Travolta lends his musical talents. The music here is as memorable as the actor performances. Some of the stand out songs featured here are, “Different Stars” by Trespassers William, “Washboard Lisa” by Greyson Capps, “My Heart Was a Lonely Hunter” by both Theresa Andersson and Greyson Capps, “Someday” by Los Lobos, and “Bone” by Thalia Zedek.
I will avoid listing the entire soundtrack, but know that every song and instrumental here is damn good and sticks with you, including the score “Bobby” by Nathan Larson. The official soundtrack can be had second hand on sites like eBay and I’ve even managed to spot it in some local second hand stores. It’s not streaming on most platforms, well not officially at least. The entire soundtrack can be streamed on YouTube as a playlist put together by users. There are songs here and there scattered on platforms like Apple Music, but it’s not there as a full body of work. So, you may want to do like I did and grab the physical CD of this one.
“Watching a movie should be like hunting. Out of context, every image of the cinema is yours for a split second. Take them before they bury it.” – John Waters
A quick scroll on Letterboxd reviews will reveal ratings mostly consisting of three to four and a half stars. The majority of these ratings appear from folks who have found this film unexpectedly on platforms like Tubi, where it is currently streaming as of time of writing. One reviewer described the film as their new comfort film and, “a raw story about broken people trying their best” and I couldn’t agree more. A Love Song for Bobby Long will stick with me forever and I’ll continue to watch it at least once or twice a year.
Thank you for reading. I’m not a professional writer or anything fancy like that. I just a film nerd and wanted to write A Love Letter to A Love Song for Bobby Long. Be sure to read the “Iron Lung” review by Katie M
