(2007)
3.5
Derek Armstrong
The aptly titled documentary Crazy Love is fascinating under any circumstances, but it's even better the less you know about it. In fact, it's best if you come in knowing only this: two New Yorkers, a lawyer and the young receptionist who catches his eye, get embroiled in a perverse definition of romantic love that spans five decades, full of twists and turns that are almost unimaginable. Once that description gets you in the door, it's best to just sit back and take it all in. Most viewers will know many of the film's plot points before watching, either because they remember the events playing out in the New York tabloids, or because they read a synopsis of the film that revealed too much. But co-directors Dan Klores and Fisher Stevens are exceptionally committed to keeping things suspenseful, taking pains to structure Crazy Love so that each new development has maximum impact on the viewer -- even down to their strategies for how to interview Burt Pugach, Linda Riss, and a variety of their acquaintances, so as not to give away the current status of their toxic relationship. What's really fascinating, watching the interviews, is how sane these people seem relative to the insane behavior on display throughout -- which eventually calls into question something we should be able to take for granted, namely, their status as reliable witnesses to their own lives. This does not detract from, but, rather, enhances the viewing experience. In fact, one of the film's chief pleasures is watching the interviews with the tangential players, whose reactions to these events are more in line with the typical audience member's response: shocked, bemused, or angered by the things Burt and Linda have said and done. Part freak show, part heart-breakingly human, Crazy Love is an engrossing cinematic experience.
Crazy Love on AllMovie
Crazy Love (2007)
