top of page

Review: "The Idea of You"

Jennifer Green

An enjoyable romance that takes itself a tad too seriously in the second half, this film is driven by alluring turns from Hathaway and Galitzine.


The premise of The Idea of You is centered on the idea that, at 40, Hathaway's Solène is considered too old for Galitzine's 24-year-old boy band member, Hayes. Society judges her, and she judges herself.


But it's hard to think of the stunning Hathaway as "old," even when she's dodging awkward flirtation from divorced dads at her 40th birthday party in one of the film's funniest early scenes.


Unfortunately, the film gives up on the humor and veers into melodrama as it works its way to a drawn-out ending. In this, and in the unhurried sex scenes focused on Solène's pleasure, the film makes its target audience clear.


The Idea of You has some insightful musings on the process of maturing in adulthood. Solène does eventually confirm her stage in life by choosing her daughter's happiness over her own. Hathaway also gives a moving monologue about the moment she realized her marriage was over.


She's shown letting go of her anger and disappointment, and she's definitely the driver of this film. But Galitzine -- riding a wave, after Purple Hearts and Red, White & Royal Blue -- matches her. He transmits vulnerability as a self-doubting but talented artist, and his performances in the boy band concert sequences are right on the nose.


In these and other scenes, the film plays with split screens, color filters, and slow motion, all of which -- combined with a varied soundtrack -- adds momentum to this entertaining, star-driven romance.

 

Read the full review at Common Sense Media.

Images courtesy of Amazon Prime Video.



Comments


 

A note about privacy: This web is hosted on the Wix.com platform. Wix.com provides us with the online platform that allows us to share our content you. We do not share personal information with third-parties nor do we store information we collect about your visit to this blog for use other than to analyze content performance through the use of cookies, which you can turn off at any time by modifying your Internet browser's settings. We are not responsible for the republishing of the content found on this blog on other web sites or media without our permission. All art and posters from films used on this site are sourced from distributors where possible, and always represent official art released for press coverage of films. Other images are original. Please contact me directly with questions. This privacy policy is subject to change without notice.

bottom of page