I'll Love You Always: A cautionary tale about pride and bad decisions

Is it worth your time?

Honestly, only if you have a soft spot for 1930s melodrama where the characters seem allergic to telling the truth. If you get annoyed by people who could solve their problems with a two-minute conversation, you are going to want to throw something at your screen. I kind of loved it, but I also wanted to shake Carl the entire time.

Carl Brent is the kind of guy who thinks he’s too good for a job until he’s desperate enough to commit a felony for it. Watching him spiral is like watching a car crash in slow motion. He’s got that specific brand of fragile ego that makes you cringe.

The Lie That Keeps Giving

The whole premise hinges on him pretending to be in Russia. He has some guy mail letters for him. Who has the energy for that level of deception? It’s absurd, and the movie knows it, which makes it weirdly funny.

There is this moment where he finds out Nora is pregnant while he's rotting in a cell. The look on his face? Oof. It’s heavy, even if the surrounding plot feels a bit like a soap opera written in a hurry.

The pacing is a bit all over the place. Sometimes it feels like a stage play that forgot to move off the boards, and then suddenly we’re dealing with international fake-travel and grand larceny. It’s a wild ride for a movie that feels like it should be simpler.

• The letters from Russia are clearly written by someone who has never been to Russia.
• The dialogue has that snappy, slightly artificial rhythm that makes you wonder if anyone actually talked like that in the 30s.
• Nora is way too patient. Like, suspiciously patient.

It reminds me a bit of the tension you see in The Devil's Holiday where the weight of social expectations just crushes the life out of the main character. But here, the weight is entirely self-imposed.

I caught myself pausing just to look at the background extras. There is a guy in the third act who is clearly just waiting for his lunch break. He’s looking at his watch when he thinks the camera isn’t on him. Classic.

It’s not a masterpiece. It’s not even trying to be. It’s just a weird, stressful little story about a man who loves his wife so much he’d rather go to jail than admit he’s a failure. Which is, you know, a choice.

If you like movies that make you feel better about your own life because at least you aren't pretending to be in Moscow, give it a shot. Just don't expect to leave feeling smarter.