The Idea of You Is a Mostly Not-Guilty Pleasure

2 weeks ago 8

Anne Hathaway is conscionable terrific arsenic a 40-year-old pistillate swept up by a romance with a boy-bander. Photo: Alisha Wetherill/Prime

Hayes Campbell, the 24-year-old emotion involvement played by Nicholas Galitzine successful The Idea of You, is not Harry Styles. But he’s besides not not Harry Styles. He’s British, tattooed, loves an oversize cardigan — and he’s a subordinate of a lad set that he’s connected the verge of outgrowing. The erstwhile One Direction subordinate is an inspiration writer Robinne Lee has cited for the caller connected which the movie is based, and portion The Idea of You isn’t Harry Styles instrumentality fabrication (a budding subgenre), Hayes does clasp the fuzzy outline of a projection. He isn’t a implicit character, not similar Solène Marchand (Anne Hathaway), the 40-year-old Silver Lake assemblage proprietor whose accidental run-in with him astatine Coachella, portion accompanying her teenage girl to a meet-and-greet, leads to a hectic affair. He is, arsenic the rubric suggests, an thought — the hunky young popular prima who enjoys the benefits of being portion of a commercialized improvement portion besides staying supra it, much sensitive, much talented, and much inclined to not conscionable admit the charms of an older woman, but to autumn successful emotion with her.

The Idea of You is simply a fantasy, but not the 1 you mightiness expect upon speechmaking the logline of the movie. Directed with uninspired competence by Michael Showalter, its escapism is little erotic than demographic, a imagination of being capable to partake successful a taste offering that isn’t for you anymore. Solène is precocious divorced from concern asshole Dan (Reid Scott) and trying not to task bitterness astir him leaving her for a younger co-worker. She can’t beryllium a fan of Hayes’s band, August Moon. That would beryllium humiliating, arsenic the movie makes wide from her brushwood with a middle-aged Moonhead clutching a poster successful the VIP lounge. August Moon is simply a manufactured product, 5 cute boys with antithetic personas assembled, arsenic Hayes tells her, from caput shots connected a wall. Solène’s 17-year-old daughter, Izzy (Ella Rubin), has already outgrown their music, which is each teen yearning. But her transportation with Hayes, sparked erstwhile she mistakenly walks into his trailer reasoning it’s the bathroom, provides her with a mode of enjoying his amusement without shame. Even arsenic the movie assures america that Hayes is much than conscionable a teenybopper by showing him noodling astir connected a guitar successful work of his ain compositions, it revels successful the acquisition of lasting connected the broadside of the signifier successful beforehand of an arena afloat of screaming teenagers, being serenaded by idiosyncratic making it wide the popular opus he’s singing is for you.

This offering is much alluring than it sounds. Solène’s beingness is covetable, with her Silver Lake Craftsman, roster of bully friends, and charming business, but it’s besides precise grown-up. A montage of Solène getting deed connected by awkward oregon not-actually-separated men astatine her day enactment previews what dating arsenic a 40-something volition beryllium like. Meanwhile, Hayes is determination with his uncomplicated philharmonic pleas for emotion and his itinerant beingness flying astir successful a backstage level and idling successful European cities betwixt shows — a beingness unencumbered by big baggage. The archetypal clip helium and Solène are together, it’s successful a edifice country supra Manhattan, an idyllic non-space wherever they tin autumn into each other’s arms and past bid country work afterward. It’s a sexy scene, though each different lusty brushwood is folded into montages that prioritize the representation of them sprawling successful luxury sheets implicit existent hooking up. With Izzy astatine campy and Solène’s assemblage emptied retired by Hayes’s purchases, helium coaxes an initially resistant Solène to travel with him connected tour, an interlude presented arsenic a delirious whirl of sightseeing and tumbling astir antithetic rented suites — a romance arsenic vacation.

Galitzine, coming disconnected the overmuch sillier Red, White & Royal Blue, ne'er comes adjacent to summoning the charisma of a palmy performing artist. That doesn’t derail the movie excessively much, due to the fact that it’s truthful overwhelmingly astir Solène, and arsenic Solène, Hathaway gives a peculiarly beauteous and susceptible performance. She’s radiant arsenic a pistillate reconnecting with big, swooping emotions, and reminding herself that those feelings are not the exclusive territory of the young. At 41, Hathaway hardly looks older than her 29-year-old co-star, which dulls a batch of the provocation that’s meant to travel with the property spread betwixt the lovers. The performers themselves whitethorn not sizzle with innate chemistry, but the movie manages to beryllium sultry regardless, acknowledgment to the spectacle of Solène feeling desirable. When she shows up successful New York successful heels and a trench overgarment that she peels disconnected to uncover a sheer dress, it’s similar looking astatine idiosyncratic who’s conscionable walked into a spotlight. The Idea of You could basal to beryllium a small much indulgent — it allows the existent satellite to unreserved into its unexpected narration astir earlier it gets going — but it’s amazingly seductive adjacent with its restraint. Anyone tin holler on to a One Direction opus successful the privateness of their home, but it’s thing other to reconnect with the feelings expressed by 1 of those large choruses.