The biggest draw for Love the Hard Way is a pre-Pianist Adrien Brody, who plays a grunged-out jerk in a flaming snakeskin jacket—quite well, I might add. But as much as this film wants to aspire to the feel of a circa-70s crime/relationship drama, Love the Hard Way is a frustrating failure. The actors and the writers seem to be striving for a bad-ass sense of cool, but perhaps they've tried too hard.

The film follows a couple of low-life grifters—Jack (Brody) and Charlie (Jon Seda)—in a dank, seedy New York as they engage in a series of depressing cons. With the help of a slimy hotel clerk (August Diehl), as well as a couple of women dolled up as whores, they impersonate cops and squeeze cash from foreign businessmen. But even as these cons seem to prove endlessly effective, we sense a deep dissatisfaction within Jack, who yearns to be a writer (a bad one, apparently). The trouble—and the film's forward momentum—begins when Jack meets bubbly college student Claire (Charlotte Ayanna), whom he beds and then can't seem to get rid of. In an impossible series of hateful scenes, she keeps returning to this scumbag, seeing the ultimate good in him, and wanting to save his soul from his life of crime, blah, blah, blah.

The film becomes painful to endure, and perhaps that's the intention of the filmmakers. But Love the Hard Way is frustrating for more reasons than were intended. Its sense of cool feels manufactured. And as the film lumbers toward its conclusion—which involves a suicide attempt, a resurrection of sorts, and an undeserved happy ending—you'll feel left out in the cold.

At least the performances are striking, in all corners. This film makes me want to watch for these actors in other projects. Particularly in the case of Brody, you can see in this earlier film the spark that would bring him stardom.

Kino presents Love the Hard Way in a mediocre-to-just-plain-bad anamorphic-widescreen transfer of the film's original 1.85:1 theatrical presentation. This is a flat, drab effort that offers poor detail, washed-out colors, and shallow blacks. The image is almost completely uninvolving, looking ugly and soft. Shadow detail is poor. The print itself is pretty dirty and speckled. A layer of gauze appears to have been laid across the entire screen.

The disc's Dolby Digital 5.1 track is fairly involving, particularly as regards the score, which comes across brightly and impressively and uses all channels aggressively. However, the dialog and front effects are hollow and echoey and uninvolving. It's as if the sound mixers went overboard with the surrounds and made everything sound as if it was recorded in a huge empty warehouse.

The disc offers a surprisingly thorough documentary called U-Store It, U-Lock It, U-Keep the Key: Love the Hard Way: The Making Of. This hour-long film by Marie Noelle walks us through nearly every aspect of the production and includes illuminating interviews with all the key players. But if the film leaves you cold, this documentary will seem WAY too long.

You also get a series of seven Deleted Scenes & Clips, the film's Theatrical Trailer, and a Stills Gallery.

The cool this film wants to attain is mostly posturing, and you'll be scratching your head over some of the choices the writers have made. But Love the Hard Way might be worth a rental for the promise of its performances. The DVD offers poor image quality, good sound, and an interesting making-of piece, if you're a fan.