- Date of Release: 02 May 2024
- Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
- Language: English
- Watch On: Amazon Prime Video
The Idea of You
Introduction
The dynamics of love brings its own set of complications with it, one of them being that of age. And even though the age difference onscreen has been glorified over the years, things are a little different in reality. The society that we live in often judges us for most of our life decisions, and one of them being the choice of our life partner. Elder men falling in love with younger women are still passed off as being just find, given the rule of patriarchy in our society, but the other way around is still a taboo. This delicate kind of a relationship is something that makes for an interesting set of dynamics, given even the difference in wavelength that the two individuals operate at. And based on this theme, I finished watching the new English film The Idea Of You which is now streaming on Amazon Prime. So then does The Idea Of You manage to impress with its theme and dynamics, let’s find out.
Story & Screenplay
Based on a novel by the same name, The Idea Of You follows the story of a beautiful 40 year old woman, Solene who falls for a 24 year old boy, Hayes who is the lead singer of a band called August Moon. And even as their love finds a way to bloom, the exterior factors revolvimg around the society, their lifestyles and a young teenage daughter of Solene would eventually decide their fate. The story here is breezy while also being slightly run-on-the-mill kind of a romance that is explored between two individuals with a large age gap. The complexities of love are briefly explored as well yet the story does tread on a fairly predictable route that eventually makes for a decent watch over the course of its runtime of a shade less than 2 hours.
The drama begins with the introduction of Solene, a beautiful woman on the cusp of turning 40, having a doting ex-husband and a teenage daughter who is a huge fan of the August Moon band, featuring the other lead protagonist Hayes. A chance encounter between the two individuals does briefly raise sparks even though Solene is conscious of the age difference between the two – at one point he even jokingly refers to Haynes as ‘a seven year old’ with whom her wavelength does not match to begin with(or so she is programmed to believe so). Yet, the sizzling chemistry between the two is pretty evident even as Hayes changes his setlist in order to dedicate a song to his new found love, to even secretly pursuing Solene at an Art gallery that she works in. Sparks only but fly as a seemingly reluctant Solene begins to fall head over heels for a much younger guy, oblivious to her daughter wherein she wishes to keep their relationship a tidy secret. But the perks of dating a celebrity does come with its own share of disadvantages!
The events are fairly interesting primarily due to the amazing act by Anne Hathway who holds the proceedings together with her likable personality and expressions. The situations that the lead characters find themselves in, is at times at the behest of the society and the conditioning of folks around them. For instance, very early on in the film you see the character of Solene wishing to find love in men of her age group which she just cannot connect with. Yet, she eventually does at a place that she least expects it in! But the complications of love related to age is something that was only briefly touched upon in the third act. Before that, a rather steamy affair between two individuals is explored upon that probably forms the best part of the drama. From the time the two protagonists bump into each other for the first time to their full blown affair, the drama is seemingly impressive!
I really wish the drama did explore a lot more complications by getting into the psyche of Solene who was clearly at the receiving end of the society and the paps. To be fair, the plot point of insecurity related to age was briefly touched upon but at no point did the writing penetrate the top layer by seeping deep into the psyche of the individual. As a result, the drama continues to stay frothy and predictable, often sticking to an emotional route whereas in reality, the dark realms of a modern day relationship could have been further explored, some related to the society, the media, the family and even social media – the plot points that were just about touched upon in the final act. Yet, the finale(and the pre-finale) was pretty moving and did ascend the drama to a point, thereby summing up the screenplay that was breezy and frothy but also pretty safe and predictable.
Dialogues, Music & Direction
The dialogues are conversational and allow the viewers to indulge in them. The music is beautiful and blends perfectly well with the vibe of the drama. The BGM is soothing and almost understated while playing out only as a byproduct to the scenes while intending to keep the scenes raw without overpowering them. The cinematography features some beautiful frames that capture the mood of the drama perfectly. The frames capturing intimacy was aesthetically shot as well. The editing is decent while not quite stalling the flow of the drama at any juncture. Director Michael Showalter does a fairly decent job in constructing a frothy romance between two good looking characters while introducing a conflict stemming itself to the stigma of the society. My only issue with it was that it played out to be too safe wherein the director could have further explored the complexities of love and how it affects the psyche of an individual in a more pronounced manner.
Performances
The performances are pretty impressive here. Reid Scott as Daniel and Ella Rubin as Izzy have their moments to shine, and both of them leave a lasting impression. Nicholas Galitzine as Hayes is quite a charming personality onscreen and he puts his best foot forward while also sharing some crackling chemistry with Anne Hathway. But if I were to say that it was Anne Hathway that anchors the proceedings throughout then it wouldn’t be wrong. Firstly, she looks drop dead gorgeous! Secondly, she plays around so well with her body language, her expressions and her towering onscreen persona that demands your attention, even as you find yourself drawn into her world of complexity. In fact, if the film works to an extent then it is due to her incredible acting chops that seemingly rescues a mid script. She was brilliant to the core here in a stellar performance overall.
Conclusion
The Idea Of You is a steamy and heartfelt romantic drama that consistently treads on a predictable path while managing to be a safe film overall. It could have further explored the complexities of love related to the psyche of the character but it chooses to stay frothy and safe thereby making it a decent watch overall. Available on Amazon Prime.