
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, March 31, 1990                   TAG: 9003310461
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: E-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: MIKE MAYO CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

BEGINNING TO END, `LOVE AT LARGE' IS A TREAT

Alan Rudolph films are something of an acquired taste. Like Robert Altman, he manipulates the conventions of whatever genre he's working in to create movies that are too personal to be mainstream commercial hits. At least, they haven't been.

"Love at Large" might change that. It's a thoroughly enjoyable detective mystery with a difference. Imagine Woody Allen's version of "The Big Sleep," or, for that matter, Raymond Chandler's "Annie Hall."

Harry Dobbs (Tom Berenger) is a private eye who's in the process of breaking up with his insanely jealous girlfriend Doris (Ann Magnuson) when he's hired by Miss Dolan (Anne Archer), the fatalest of femmes. She gives him a sketchy description of a nameless man and asks Harry to follow him. Harry goes to work right away, possibly tailing the wrong man, and finds himself in a complex plot that defies description.

The other key players are a suburban housewife (Annette O'Toole); a rancher (Ted Levine) and his wife (Kate Capshaw); and Stella (Elizabeth Perkins), another detective who's following Harry. They're all in love - or they want to be - and that's the real point of the story.

Rudolph, who wrote and directed, has given the action a deliberately unspecified look with a touch of art deco. Nothing in the film connects it with the real world. In that respect "Love at Large" is a little like "Blue Velvet" or the unfortunate "Everybody Wins," though it's much more enjoyable than either of those two.

The overall tone of the film is similar to Rudolph's own "Trouble in Mind." But here he's more confident with the fully drawn characters and the unusual plot. From the first frame to the last, this one is a real treat.

Those who expect a conventional mystery or a conventional romance may be put off by Rudolph's approach. But if you're looking for something more - something original, classy and spirited - you could do worse than "Love at Large." `Love at Large' An Orion release playing at the Salem Valley 8. Rated R for profanity, mild violence and subject matter. An hour and 35 minutes long.

by CNB