Institute History
Description
True Love is a story of Michael and Donna, a young Bronx couple who begin to confront the realities of love and marriage during the last few weeks before their wedding. As the film follows the couple in their relationships with friends and family, it creates a richly detailed portrait of the tightly knit Italian American community in which they live.
The film has a naturalistic, slice-of-life approach that emphasizes character over plot. True Love conveys the feeling of peeking through a window to observe real lives unfolding; the houses and apartments look lived in. The characters are presented in an unsentimental way as they deal with the humor and drama of their day-to-day lives.
Nancy Savoca, the film’s director and co-author, makes her feature-film debut with True Love. Produced with the strong support of filmmakers John Sayles and Jonathan Demme, the film was shot entirely on location in the Bronx neighborhood where Ms. Savoca grew up and now lives. The large ensemble cast, also new to feature filmmaking, was assembled from the New York theatre community. Annabella Sciorra (as Donna) is a sultry, new screen presence.