LOVE AND HUMAN REMAINS (Directed by Denys Arcand. Starring Thomas Gibson, Ruth Marshall, Cameron Bancroft, Mia Kershner)

Superficially, Love And Human Remains has a lot in common with Arcand’s previous, superb films Decline Of The American Empire and Jesus Of Montreal. It features a large ensemble cast, is set in Montreal and deals with major philosophical issues. But there the resemblance ends. What was undoubtedly intended as a kind of weightier Reality Bites comes over as little more than a succession of glib sound bites.

Adapted from Brad Fraser’s play Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love, the film is not so much stagebound as suffering from film fright. In an effort to expand from a single set, Arcand relentlessly cuts between different cast members in different places, in short scenes that fail to build momentum or establish any sense of ensemble. His characters are disconnected Gen-X-ers looking for love and relationships in a world characterised by superficiality and fear. The spectre of AIDS haunts their liaisons: but it is just one in a catalogue of concerns. The film ticks off their big issues – child abuse, the proliferation of facile media, the amorphous nature of sexuality – attempting to give them tangible form in the presence of a serial killer in their midst, but this just seems like one worry too many. Life’s hard . . . and then somebody kills you for no reason.

Love And Human Remains has interesting performances, some sharp dialogue and occasionally arresting images but the serial killing sub-plot finally does the enterprise in. A conversation piece in the play, it becomes the centre of the movie, making it a kind of talk and slash thriller. Jesus Of Montreal was such an outstanding accomplishment, it is astonishing how ineptly Arcand integrates the genre elements here. There are obvious red herrings and ludicrous plot contrivances, lending the film a sheen of the very superficiality and media triviality it appears to criticise.