THE IDEA OF YOU is a beautiful love story

The Idea Of You (English) Review {3.0/5} & Review Rating

Director: Michael Showalter

The Idea Of You Movie Synopsis:
Solène Marchand (Anne Hathaway) lives in Silver Lake, Los Angeles with her 16-year-old daughter Izzy (Ella Rubin). She is separated from her husband Daniel (Reid Scott) and runs an art gallery. Solène is all set to turn 40 and is about to go on a solo camping trip. Daniel, meanwhile, plans to take Izzy and her friends to Coachella where Izzy’s former favourite band, August Moon, is set to perform. Sadly, Daniel has to rush due to a work emergency and hence, Solène is compelled to take the kids to Coachella. At the festival, she bumps into Hayes Campbell (Nicholas Galitzine), the lead singer at August Moon. She, however, doesn’t know who he is at first. Hayes is impressed by her and meets her again after the festival. Both fall in love. Hayes calls her at first to New York and later to the European leg of August Moon’s tour. A lovestruck Solène joins him. Soon, it leads to problems.

The Idea Of You Movie Story Review:
THE IDEA OF YOU is based on the novel of the same name by Robinne Lee. The story is beaten to death. Michael Showalter and Jennifer Westfeldt’s screenplay, however, is breezy and peppered with touching scenes. The dialogues are witty and a few of them have the potential to go viral.

Michael Showalter’s direction is neat. He uses the conventional light-hearted romance template to execute the tale and it works. The story is predictable and the director makes sure that the love story blossoms between the lead characters organically. The chemistry is lovely, which also helps. The conflict in the tale is about the evils of social media and paparazzi and it gives a nice touch.

On the flipside, since there are no twists or unexpected moments, a section of the audience might not enjoy the goings-on. The way the paps are shown to be hounding the lovers gets too much after a point and it also seems unreal. Not much is shown about what happens after the breakup, especially the mother and daughter. In fact, the last 10 minutes are quite rushed.

The Idea Of You Movie Performances:
Anne Hathaway is marvellous as a performer and looks out of the world. It’s unbelievable how her mere presence lifts the impact of several scenes. More importantly, her performance is very relatable, especially the manner in which she performs in scenes where her character gets trolled due to her age. Nicholas Galitzine is effortless and leaves a mark. He gets better in the third act of the film. Ella Rubin is fair; her scene with the mother after the camping is memorable. Reid Scott lends able support. Annie Mumolo (Tracy) is adorable. Jordan Aaron Hall (Zeke), Raymond Cham Jr (Ollie) and Perry Mattfeld (Eva) are fine.

The Idea Of You music and other technical aspects:
Siddhartha Khosla’s music is well-woven into the narrative. ‘Closer’ stands out. Siddhartha Khosla’s background is in sync with the film’s theme.

Jim Frohna’s cinematography is appropriate. Amy Williams’s production design is realistic. Jacqueline Demeterio’s costumes are appealing, especially the ones worn by Anne. Peter Teschner’s editing is smooth.

The Idea Of You Movie Conclusion:
On the whole, THE IDEA OF YOU is a beautiful love story. Thanks to the light-hearted mood and Anne Hathaway’s casting, the film is expected to fetch a huge viewership.