The Idea Of You Review: Anne Hathaway, Nicholas Galitzine Serve Sizzling Chemistry In This Imperfect And Desirable Rom-Com!
For rom-com lovers, this is a good weekend watch
3 / 5
A man is allowed to love a woman younger than him but a woman is never given this choice by society. God forbid, if she ever did that, everybody would look down upon her like she had sinned. This is the core message behind Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Galitzine’s starrer The Idea Of You. The romantic-comedy is directed by Michael Showalter and it also stars Ella Rubin and Reid Scott in pivotal roles. The Idea Of You tells the story of Solene who falls in love with a guy much younger than her but does this love story end on a happy note? From Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Galitzine’s sizzling on-screen chemistry to the drawbacks of this film, here’s a detailed review of The Idea Of You!
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Plot
The Idea Of You revolves around the life of a 40-year-old divorced single mother Solene (Anne Hathway) and the story of her forbidden love with a 24-year-old famous band boy Hayes Campbell (Nicholas Galitzine). The character of Solene’s daughter is played by Ella Rubin and Ried Scott aces the character of her ex-husband. Solene and Hayes, the chocolate boy from a fictional band August Moon coincidently meet at Coachella and there’s an instant spark between them. The story moves forward to show how Hayes chases Solene to know more about her and they finally end up dating each other. But well, this love story is not all happy and cute! Their love story is met with a lot of obstacles and a major part of them comes from society. The Idea Of You digs deep into the negative trolling culture on social media and how a woman is always the biggest culprit in such narratives. The hypocrisies of society are also highlighted through Solene and Hayes’ love story, but to know the end of it. you’d probably want to watch the film.
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What Works?
On-Screen Chemistry
Firstly, I was not ready for Anne Hatheway and Nicholas Galitzine’s sizzling on-screen chemistry. The steamy romance between the duo feels so genuine and throughout the film, I was just hoping for them to end up together. The Idea Of You is not a film that limits romance and chemistry only to having sex, it’s so much more than that. The kissing scenes in the film are a reflection of how much Solene and Hayes want each other. The scene where the duo is lazing around in a hotel room, ordering food, making love and having meaningful conversations about their insecurities adds many unexplored layers to this love story.
Performances
Anne Hathaway as a single divorced mother Solene is just exceptional. The actress balances her emotional vulnerabilities as a woman still accepting that her husband cheated on her, but at the same time, she tries her best to be emotionally available for her daughter and restart her life again. Anne Hathway does a brilliant job is showcasing the dilemmas of a mother and woman in love when she receives a lot of backlash for her relationship with a 25-year-old. I found myself invested in scenes when Hathaway’s character confronts Hayes before breaking up. I could resonate with her character’s pain of not being able to choose her happiness over the rules set by society. It is safe to say that Anne Hathaway is the star of this show!
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Nicholas Galitzine as Hayes Campbell is charming and tries to bring the character’s insecurities despite the flawed writing of his character. The actor shines especially in moments where he begs Solene to stay, trying to make her understand how much he needs her in his life.
Not A Conventional Love Story
Michael Showalter’s The Idea Of You does not follow a conventional format of telling this love story. There is a constant tussle the lead characters have to go through to keep their relationship going. The film has subtle commentaries on how society’s hypocrisy comes into action when a woman is in question. There is also a line in the film which goes like, “Society can’t see a happy woman,” and it just hits you hard. The Idea Of You also explores some real conversations through the character of Hayes Campbell and how fame distorts the real personality hidden behind a 24-year-old boy. It also delves into the dirty trolling culture on social media that is always ready to target a woman and frame her as the witch, and in this case, it is Solene who bears the brunt of it all.
Also Read: Men Reveal 5 Things They Had To Unlearn To Understand Women Better, We Love The Effort!
What Doesn’t Work?
The biggest drawback of the film is that it does not give much attention to the aspects that affect Solene’s final decision for her love story with Hayes Campbell. The different kind of resistance that Solene faces to her relationship is just touched upon vaguely. The Idea Of You is some much engrossed in showing the ups and downs of Solene and Hayes’ relationship that it forgets to tell more about the plots that affect their relationship. The movie starts by showing us the dynamics between the mother-daughter (Ella Rubin) but it eventually forgets to explore the changing dynamics in the latter half. Due to these flaws in the storytelling, The Idea Of You makes a much lesser impact than the potential it promises.
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Also, The Idea Of You does not focus much on the other characters except the lead. The themes that the film explores are co-dependent on the relationships that Solene shares with her other family members but fails to give these subplots their due importance, and that’s disappointing. Hayes Campbell does not have any backstory and therefore, it’s really hard to understand where he is coming from. There is no base to his character.
Verdict
Micheal Showalter’s The Idea Of You has the best on-screen between Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Galitzine and that is the strongest point of this film. The dynamics between the lead characters are explored beautifully throughout the film and are heavily influenced by many layers of societal pressures, trolling culture and injustices a woman has to go through. There are flaws in storytelling and character development, especially for the supporting characters.. However, The Idea Of You brings some fresh perspectives to a fresh rom-com and is worth the watch. The Idea Of You is currently streaming on Prime Video.
First Published: May 02, 2024 2:44 PM
