LOVE THE HARD WAY American Directions

The fine line between love and obsession is completely blurred in Peter Sehr’s sharp, bitter pill of a love story that more than merits its title, shattering such quaint romantic notions as “opposites attract.”

Claire is an Ivy League good girl with a plan. Jack is a non-committal hustler with too many plans. Their meeting leads to a combustible affair that unwittingly takes them out of their respective comfort zones. As Claire loses herself in Jack’s dark, seedy world, the emotionally vacant Jack loses his veneer of invincibility.

Screenwriters Sehr and Marie Noelle pull no punches, capturing with searing and discomforting honesty the messiness of human relationships. Actors Charlotte Ayanna and Adrien Brody generate plenty of palpable heat as the young lovers, with Brody turning in a precise portrayal of sullen and defiant Jack.