Fool for Love, released in theaters on December 6, 1985, is director Robert Altman‘s searing and deeply atmospheric adaptation of the celebrated play by Sam Shepard, who also stars in the film. Set against the desolate, sun-baked landscape of the Mojave Desert, the film is a raw and compelling exploration of an incestuous, obsessive, and ultimately destructive romantic relationship. It perfectly captures the heightened, poetic realism characteristic of Shepard’s dramatic work.
The entire, claustrophobic drama unfolds primarily in a run-down, dusty motel on the edge of the desert.
The story centers on Eddie (Shepard), a rodeo stuntman, and May (Kim Basinger), a motel cook, who are caught in a cycle of intense, passionate attraction and violent repulsion.
They are deeply in love, yet their relationship is haunted by a dark, unspoken past that keeps them from achieving any semblance of stability or peace.
The film opens with Eddie traveling hundreds of miles to May’s motel room, attempting to drag her back to his nomadic life, despite her determined efforts to finally start over without him.
Their explosive confrontations are repeatedly interrupted and observed by the stoic, elderly Old Man (Harry Dean Stanton), who sits nearby on the porch, rocking in a chair.
The Old Man is privy to their entire tragic history, commenting on the action and speaking to the characters, even though he may only exist in their shared memory or imagination.
The arrival of Martin (Randy Quaid), a well-meaning but clueless local trying to take May out on a date, acts as a catalyst for the final, devastating confrontation.
Driven by jealousy and desperation, Eddie reveals the terrible, genetic truth of their relationship—a truth that the Old Man then confirms, weaving the final, painful thread of their shared family history. The film is less about a clear plot resolution and more about the suffocating, inescapable nature of their bond and the legacy of their parents’ similar lives.
Basinger delivers what many consider to be one of her most intense and underrated performances, capturing May’s fragile strength and agonizing turmoil.
Shepard inhabits Eddie with the weary, rugged authenticity he wrote into the character.
The presence of Stanton, who masterfully conveys the weight of the past as the enigmatic Old Man, anchors the film’s mythic, fateful quality, creating a landmark collaboration between a seminal American playwright and one of the nation’s most visionary directors.
Kim Basinger in Fool for Love (Photo/Cannon Films)
Reception for Fool for Love
Fool for Love grossed $55,637 on its opening weekend, in limited release on two screens.
The film would gross $836,156 in its theatrical run.
Roger Ebert gave Fool for Love three out of four stars in his review.
Legacy
Fool for Love is critically acclaimed for its successful translation of Shepard’s visceral, poetic stage work to the screen, largely thanks to Altman’s signature directorial style.
Altman uses the expansive, harsh desert setting and the cramped motel interiors to amplify the characters’ emotional torment.
