Crazy Love's premise is original enough to violently grab the interest of near enough anyone - a 21-year old Linda Riss, upon ending her relationship with hotshot lawyer Burt Pugach, has a caustic solution thrown in her face, blinding her, for which Burt is responsible, and sixteen years later, the two marry - this is their story.

The infamous "lye-throwing" incident above occurred in 1959, and almost 50 years later, director Dan Klores catches up with Linda and Burt, as well as their families and friends to make sense of this seemingly insane situation. Up until the closing moments of the documentary, Burt and Linda offer their views in separate rooms, and so we are left unaware as to whether they are still together right up until the final seconds, an interesting enigma, I add.

Crazy Love chronicles the unlikely relationship (even prior to the disfigurement) between attractive young Linda and a successful but unattractive lawyer, in Burt. In what is arguably the weak link in this film, their childhoods are also discussed in some depth, yet for all of their abuse and coddling as children, it is never linked to their present-day behaviours. We can draw our own conclusions, but to hear an informed and schooled psychological opinion would not have been remiss.

As we meet present-day Burt, he is something of a sleazy character, and I dare anyone to not feel remorse for Linda for how she was ultimately played by Burt. Linda makes it clear that she had a great deal of sexual morality whilst dating Burt initially, and Burt, the ever-lecherous older man, was intensely bothered by her refusal to "put out". Almost laughably, Linda's refusal, combined with his own professional misgivings, led him to heavy drinking, he purports.

To label Burt as "peculiar" is to do all of the peculiar folk out there a great disservice - Burt is certifiably crazy-in-love, yet his downward spiral into this state is almost presented in tongue-in-cheek fashion. As his various cohorts chime in with their comments, a picture, accompanied by some appropriately zany music, is shown to us - Burt with a fully-grown beard, glasses, and a maniacal look on his face - I laughed. A lot.

Burt's behaviour by this stage is downright disgraceful - he abuses Linda, following her, and hiring people to intimidate her in the hope that it would lead her straight back into his arms. I think one must be careful to label Burt insane (at least in the pathological sense), as I think that would be letting him off easily - rather, I think his actions were a series of selfish acts performed in order to keep Linda within his grasp. It's disgusting to even think about what this man has done, but it's nonetheless extremely gripping.

The film eventually gets to what everyone wants to know about - Burt hiring three men to hurl lye in Linda's face, which eventually causes her to become entirely blind. At this point, I would assume that every single person watching this must be wondering quite how one can redeem themselves after authorising such a heinous act - I sure as anything was. As Burt chose to do in this documentary, in discussing his childhood at some length, when brought to trial, he attempted to paint himself as something of a victim, proclaiming that he made her "almost blind", rather than entirely blind, as though that made such a difference. I found Burt to be, from this scene alone, a rather pathetic and thoroughly dislikeable individual. Furthermore, when Burt claims that being a defendant in this case was a profit, as he was able to see Linda as a result, he is one very small step away from becoming a parody of individuals slightly less crazy than himself.

Linda, conversely, is a rather amiable, inspiring individual - she attempts to simply continue living her life, which isn't easy, considering there aren't many people who would find her disfigurement appealing, romantically speaking. Even almost two decades following the incident, she still suffers rather strange turns of fortune - upon asking Burt to send her money whilst in prison, she inadvertently sets forth a chain of events that eventually leads to Burt's parole.

Whilst it is admirable that Burt is still in love (or this twisted form of it, at least) with Linda after not only almost two decades, but also her blindness and disfigurement, one cannot help but think that Linda decided to return to Burt to avoid loneliness. Surely Linda can never forget what Burt did, as this act in itself effectively clipped Linda's wings - in a time where looks were one of the few things that women laid claim to outright, Linda's were abruptly taken away, thrusting her back into Burt's arms. As such, it is very easy to agree with Linda's disgruntled Aunt, and furthermore, one of Linda's friends, who attests that financial security was the most important commodity to Linda. It's a worrying commentary on this thing we call "love", and whilst any mature adult will recognise that love is never the fairytale that Hollywood cracks it up to be, to reduce it to such insipid precepts leaves a very sour taste.

Even as we approach present day, Burt still appears very unrepentant, with more tales of purported mistresses slipping through the cracks - why this truly detestable man never learns is beyond my level of comprehension. Resultantly, his wife almost appears institutionalised, downplaying much of his indiscretion, and deeming him a poor man for having to put up with her - even as a fleeting comment, it's highly disconcerting.

Crazy Love is a peculiar, highly captivating documentary that, whilst conspicuously devoid of any merited psychological authority, sustains itself on the curious individuals within, although not without leaving a sour taste. Burt, by the end of Crazy Love, resembles the cat that got the cream, and whilst he does finally appear repentant in the final moments of the film, it does little to change my intense dislike for this man. In regard to Linda, despite what Burt has put her through, she still cracks jokes about this half-century ordeal, and one must consider whether Linda is in fact crazier than Burt - perhaps they're both so crazy that they truly do belong together.