A headstrong young woman returns to New Orleans after the death of her estranged mother.
Ratings
Curator score: 1.0/10
IMDb: 7.1/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 44%
Metacritic: 48
TMDB: 6.8/10
Director
Shainee Gabel
Production
Yari Film Group
Cast
John Travolta, Scarlett Johansson, Gabriel Macht, Deborah Kara Unger, Dane Rhodes, David Jensen, Clayne Crawford, Sonny Shroyer, Carol Sutton, Walter Breaux, Warren Kole, Bernard Johnson, Gina 'Ginger' Bernal, Douglas M. Griffin, Earl Maddox, Steve Maye, Don Brady, Will Barnett, Patrick McCullough, Leanne Cochran
Curator Review
Verdict
A moody, small-scale Southern drama with strong atmosphere, sharp dialogue, and committed performances, especially from Scarlett Johansson and John Travolta. It’s more about damaged people talking, drifting, and slowly revealing themselves than about plot momentum, so it works best if you enjoy character studies and humid, literary melancholy.
Best for
viewers who like atmosphere-first dramas
fans of broken-character ensemble pieces
people drawn to New Orleans as a setting
audiences who enjoy talky, performance-driven films
viewers open to slow-burn emotional repair
Skip if
you want a plot-heavy movie with clear twists
you dislike aimless or rambling storytelling
you need a strong female-centered narrative arc
you prefer brisk pacing or high stakes
Overview
A Love Song for Bobby Long is the kind of film that lives or dies on mood, and it mostly lives. New Orleans feels less like a backdrop than a spell: hot, decaying, musical, and full of half-remembered regrets. The film settles into a house full of damaged people and lets their contradictions simmer until they start to feel human rather than merely eccentric.
Worth noting
The script leans heavily on dialogue and character texture, which gives the actors room to do the work. Travolta is unusually loose and wounded, while Johansson brings a wary intelligence that keeps the film from floating away into pure reverie. The supporting dynamic gives the story its shape, even when the plotting feels secondary.
Bottom line
It’s not especially surprising, and some viewers will find its gentleness and drift frustrating. But if you respond to films that trade momentum for atmosphere, and if you like your dramas with a literary, Southern Gothic aftertaste, this is an easy one to admire more than to simply like.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Dave (4★) · 88 likes
This is one of those films where the plot hardly matters. It merely serves as a catalyst to get these romantic characters in the same room, breathe the same humid, hazy New Orleans air, and spit out dialogue that is poetic and resonant. This is a film rich in mood and atmosphere, and while nothing really happens throughout its course, you’re just comfortable and settled in its laziness.
Scarlett Johansson is extraordinary as a young woman who befriends two drunken writers (John Travolta and Gabriel Macht) in a house that once belonged to her deceased mother.
That’s it; just relax and indulge.
Vishwas Verma 🟠🟢🔵 (3.5★) · 76 likes
I was so involved with the characters with every passing minute. It was a great character study about broken people and their broken lives. Everyone is flawed and through a series of events overcome their problems. Very well written.
One of the top performances by John Travolta. I have never seen Scarlett Johanssen lie this before. I have to say she impressed me here with her performance in the 3rd act where she finds out the truth about her mother. Amazing. Gabriel Macht gives a wonderful performance as well.
Eve (5★) · 34 likes
We cannot tear out a single page of our lives, but we can throw the whole book in the fire
Hell would i know whether we all heard the wind sing-songing chords all the way from New Orleans—and we simply walked toward it—or it was just me, like something had been spelled out just for me, here and there. But if nothing else, i know this—i lived that story. It’s the place and the pocket-camera angles, the story, and how… more
claira curtis (3★) · 30 likes
Feeling complicated things about A Love Song for Bobby Long!
Predictably safe, which means that you can fully relax into the story being told with the comfort of knowing where it’s going. Films like this are all about the character development and while there’s a lot of that, I found it on the frustrating side. A film that seemed like it was meant to be more about the lone female lead instead is all about the men in her life.… more
Connor Carey (3.5★) · 30 likes
It runs a bit longer than I think it needed too and it takes a little while to get going but once it does, "A Love Song for Bobby Long" becomes a moving, engaging and well acted drama. It doesn't offer a whole ton of surprises or anything really new but I really liked the chemistry and dynamic that develops between the three leads, while Scarlett Johansson & John Travolta turn in some of their most underrated work.