This documentary from director Dan Klores chronicles the disturbing true story of an obsessive relationship gone awry in 1950s New York (Summary-Netflix.com)
Crazy Love Trailer- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B62xvVk9VEI
I've been meaning to review this film for the longest time and I did mean for this to be published on Valentine's day too. I find this as more of a shoutout and summary for the movie rather than a review. I just feel like it is the perfect twisted story to watch on Netflix for the holiday.
The documentary, 'Crazy Love' describes the true story of the love affair of Burton 'Burt' N. Pugach and Linda Eleanor Riss, two young adults in the 1950s who endure a series of wild and peculiar events that change their lives forever.
This story is presented through the eyes of the couple and all of the people whom they have impacted through the years, including friends and co-workers. Each person tells their perspective on Pugach and Riss' love life, and based on their documents, it appears that many of those who knew of the two disapproved of their relationship. But how come? What would make them so hesitant to support the couple?
If you have no clue about the story, then you're in for a wild ride.
At the age of 32, Pugach was a lawyer who had a steady career. He met the 22 year old Riss in the Bronx and he said that seeing her made him fall in love at first sight. Riss was indeed a very beautiful woman. Practically everyone remembered her for her stunning beauty and high spirited personality. Funny enough, Riss mentioned how she
The older male began stalking her, even his friends noticed how strange he became. It was getting so overwhelming, Riss ended their relationship and later moved on to another man who wasn't as rich, but had a good heart with a loving family. They couldn't keep their hands off each other, according to Riss's friends. It seemed guaranteed that the two lovebirds would stay together, and they almost did, having gotten engaged. This engagement made Pugach mad with rage once he heard about it and was determined to get revenge for Riss leaving him. So he did the unthinkable...
In 1959, Pugach hired three men to go to Riss' home and attack her by throwing lye in her face. Lye is a strong alkaline solution that's used for washing or cleansing. It can be very dangerous to have lye in contact with skin, so when Riss was faced with lye, it created a permanent scarring on her face. This attack was heard all over New York and landed front page in the newspapers. Soon after the attack, the three men and Pugach were all arrested. Pugach was sentenced to 15 years in prison for orchestrating this brutal assault and Riss' family and friends were thrilled by the news.
Riss survived the assault but suffered severe burns because of it, making her need to wear dark glasses in order for no one to take a look the damage she had. Riss was very happy that her ex-boyfriend was in prison, but because of him, her plans to marry her current boyfriend shattered. She understood how difficult it would be for her boyfriend to care for her in her condition, so she let him go and to take that emotional weight away, she occupied her time by hanging out with her friends for the years Pugach was locked up. But even trips to the beaches didn't help her escape the pain.
At some point, Riss realized that she was in her 30s and still never lost her virginity, so she was confident to change that by having a fling with a man. The man was very kind to her, but couldn't handle seeing her without her glasses and thus, couldn't go through with sleeping with her. This crushed Riss' spirit, no one found her attractive anymore...no one except Pugach.
While Riss was out and free in the world, her heart was bearing loneliness. Pugach on the other hand was trapped behind bars but never lost hope that he would see the beautiful Riss again. He always wrote letters to her and shouted his love for her until he was finally freed from prison. When he was out, all he wanted was to see the woman he scarred, not for revenge but to be romantically involved with her once again. Pugach confessed how Riss looked as beautiful as she did the first time he saw her, even when he saw her disfigurement. It seemed to the younger woman that Pugach was genuinely attracted to her and because of this, she decided that they could be together again and get married on top of that.
Since then, they've stayed married, even after allegations of Pugach cheating on her and assaulting another woman, she's stayed by his side and the pair lived together in complete happiness until Riss' death in 2013 due to heart failure.
I noticed a viewer's comment (located on Netflix) that reads, "...Well made documentary of a fascinating, disturbing, almost unbelievable story. The filmmakers wisely take a completely neutral stance, leaving the viewer to grapple with the circumstances of this darkly twisted tale that is both terrifying and funny." I didn't fully realize how right this person was in regards to the stance this documentary takes. It's a strange story with an even stranger way of filming. There is no one telling you what to think about this story, no one saying, "He's bad, don't like him" or "She's good, like her" All that is spoken is the story; the facts that needed to be known. It allows the audience to think further about their crazy love or if it was love in the first place.
I know one thing for sure: I cried when I watched the ending to this documentary. Seeing the clips of the (back then) present Pugach and Riss dancing slowly in each other's arms, arguing like a comedic old couple, acting like all that's happened in the past never occurred, it triggered my emotions and I had waterfalls of tears. Was it because I found it beautiful? Was it because I felt bad for Riss for having to settle with him? Was it because I'm just too sensitive to seeing romance?
Well...personally, I don't want to influence your opinion with my opinion. Best option to answer all of these questions is to watch it yourself.
Happy Valentine's Day!
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