Loveless
A boy vanishes amid his parents’ vicious divorce, exposing a family and society hollowed out by indifference.
Overview
In the midst of a bitter divorce, a couple's neglect leads to devastating consequences for their son.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- bleak
- austere
- foreboding
- serious film night
- arthouse cinema evening
What critics said
Critics broadly acclaimed the film as a stark, beautifully controlled family crisis that becomes thought-provoking commentary on modern Russian society and the wider crisis of empathy.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Alyosha's parents treat their custody dispute and new relationships as more important than his emotional needs, while the surrounding institutions struggle to provide human connection.
The Moscow apartment, parental hostility, and missing-child search are presented with stark, controlled intensity and little melodramatic release.
The bitter divorce, self-absorption, technology-mediated life, and weak social bonds expand the parents' neglect into a portrait of contemporary Russian isolation.
Alyosha's absence initially appears to be a runaway case, but the film keeps the circumstances and implications of his disappearance unsettlingly uncertain.
Films like Loveless, and why
Leviathan
Shared austere family drama, social critique, emotional alienation, and bleak examination of contemporary Russia.
The Missing Picture
Shared missing-child mystery, devastating family conflict, cold atmosphere, and moral unease.
Don't Look Now
Shared ominous disappearance, domestic dread, psychological tension, and austere visual storytelling.
The Hunt
Shared emotionally devastating portrait of fractured relationships, parental failure, and social isolation.
Movie Details
- Director
- Andrey Zvyagintsev
- Release Date
- 2017-06-01
- Runtime
- 122 min
- Rating
- 7.3 / 10 (842)
Cast
- Maryana Spivak
- Aleksey Rozin
- Matvey Novikov
- Alexey Fateev
- Marina Vasilyeva
- Andris Keišs
- Nataliya Potapova
- Sergey Borisov
- Anna Gulyarenko
- Artyom Zhigulin
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Loveless about?
- A boy vanishes amid his parents’ vicious divorce, exposing a family and society hollowed out by indifference.
- What is Loveless like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Loveless as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Loveless violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Loveless as mild.
- What did critics think of Loveless?
- Critics broadly acclaimed the film as a stark, beautifully controlled family crisis that becomes thought-provoking commentary on modern Russian society and the wider crisis of empathy.
- Which films are like Loveless?
- Films with a similar feel include Leviathan, The Missing Picture, Don't Look Now, and The Hunt.
- How long is Loveless?
- Loveless runs 122 minutes.
- Where can I watch Loveless?
- In United States, Loveless is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home.
