Philip Seymour Hoffman is a very talented actor who deserves a lead role to showcase his talents. Unfortunately, this showcase is a monotonously morose character study that doesn't bother to flesh out the protagonist's background or adequately explain the motivations behind his choices. The movie, like Joel himself, tends to wander aimlessly while wallowing in misery. Joel has some eccentricities and occasional outbursts to offset his dourness, but he's not a particularly engaging character; it's not hard to feel sorry for him, but it's not easy to become emotionally involved in his daily life. Scenes tend to drag on too long and offer too little emotional payoff. Meanwhile, Kathy Bates struggles valiantly with an underdeveloped role as Joel's mother-in-law, Jack Kehler adds some energy to the film as a model-plane enthusiast who tries to be supportive of Joel, and Lisa Rinzler contributes some quality cinematography. Love Liza won the Waldo Salt Screenwriting award at the Sundance Film Festival, but all that proves is that sometimes mediocre movies win awards.