(rated R) “Love’s A Bitch!” a film from Mexico debuting director/producer Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s effortless interweaving of three complex storylines that collide via a terrible car crash (seen three times, from wildly different perspectives). The first story of Octavio (Gael Garcia Bernal), who makes his money in the world of dog fighting while he lusts after his sister-in-law, the battered wife of his brother. The second involves a philandering man (Alvaro Guerrero) and his trophy mistress Valeria (Goya Toledo) whose world also revolves around dogs, although a lap dog, when her little “Richie” gets stuck under the floor boards of their apartment. And, finally there’s a third man surrounded by dogs in his makeshift home where he leads a life as a homeless contract killer haunted by his past, longing to be reunited with his daughter. The pun of Love’s a Bitch (and a female dog) is intended and accomplished through the in-depth (and sometimes annoying) exploration of the juxtaposed narratives of these losers to lovers. While American’s may have trouble accepting the idea of the family pet in a blood bath, the screened dogfights are mainly suggested. The angle of the pooches – one a pampered doggie, one an attack dog and the rest runaway “Lady and the Tramp” types, show how these unlikable heroes can relate to unconditional love, a man’s best friend. On the other hand, the scene cuts, the whiplash imagery, the loud soundtrack and seat squirming 153 minutes tends to suffocate the audience.
