Love & Diane

Jennifer Dworkin's Love & Diane is a painful film to watch, on many levels. Shot over a five-year period, the documentary chronicles a New York African-American family living in a constant state of chaos. The main focus is on matriarch and recovered crack addict Diane Hazzard, her 18-year-old daughter Love, and Love's five-year-old son Donyaeh, who was born HIV-positive and is subsequently placed in foster care when Love throws a shocking temper tantrum in the presence of social workers. Although the film is clearly intended to serve as an indictment of a bureaucratic system that seems to create a permanent state of poverty and misery for the underprivileged, it's hard to accept bureaucracy in the role of sole villain in view of the less-than-satisfactory personalities of the Hazzard women. We witness a small army of social workers, therapists, and lawyers working to help Love regain custody of her child, but no one appears to have the courage to question whether this immature and emotionally unstable woman is fit to raise a child. Diane, while beset by plenty of problems beyond her control, is nonetheless a poor role model for Love, and the younger woman's irresponsible behavior is a sorry tribute to Diane's parenting. At 155 minutes, the film is absurdly overlong and patience is frayed long before the closing credits. Not a necessary purchase. Aud: C, P. (P. Hall)