Self The Idea of You if it were a remake it would be Notting Hill 25 years later, with the member of a globally successful boy band instead of the Oscar-winning actress of the romantic comedy with Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts. And with the issue of the age difference between the protagonists, with her older than him, acting as the narrative driving force. Highly anticipated by fans of the book of the same name written by Robinne Lee (in Italy published by Sperling&Kupfer), the film is streaming from May 2nd on Amazon Prime Video: the protagonists are Anne Hathaway and the highly contested Nicholas Galitzinewhich in recent weeks debuted in America on Starz and in Italy on Sky with the very spicy series Mary&George and enjoys the successes of a career on the rise. The film unfolds like the most classic of romance: there’s Solène, a nearly forty-year-old single career mother disappointed by the bitter end of her marriage and then there’s Hayes, 24 years old, member of the brand August Moon, that the protagonist meets by chance among the Coachella trailers. She seeks relief from the frustration and dullness of life, he seeks someone who sees him for who he really is. They meet, find each other, fall in love and then end up in a whirlwind of stereotypes and taboos that will give their newborn love a hard time.
A scene from the film The Idea of You
On the one hand, in fact, there is Hayes’ stratospheric success, which at a certain point will put them to the test among paparazzi stationed on the doorstep and gossip in international newspapers; on the other there is Solène’s fear of judgment from others, overwhelmed by online haters and dirty looks from her acquaintances after the love story becomes public knowledge. The theme of the book first and then of the film revolves around social brakes of the protagonistwho feels she has to put her feelings aside in the name of rules and labels written by others, of being a mother and a woman approaching 40. Anne Hathaway is a joy to behold (in every sense: from outfits to hairstyles, every what in his style shouts Quiet Luxury) in representing the torments of a woman who would like to let herself go with a partner who makes her happy, beyond all prejudice.
Of course, there are no surprises or twists. Indeed, the plot, even for those who have not yet read the book, is quite predictable. But the film is a success announced only on paper, even before its arrival on streaming, above all thanks to the cast: Hathaway is perfect in these roles which frame her as the ironic and sexy human being that she is and Galitzine is one of the actors most requested at the moment, fresh from the success of Red, White and Blue and of Purple Hearts. The result? 115 minutes of enjoyable romance.
What does Harry Styles have to do with The Idea of You
The author of the book which the film (which is directed by Michael Showalter) is inspired has said on several occasions that she used the British artist as a model to paint the emotional and physical traits of Hayes: in short, the character played by Nicholas Galitzine it’s nothing else yet another Styles castbeloved by fanfiction authors who have in fact chosen him as the protagonist of their stories on countless occasions (After is the most emblematic case). And Robinne Lee’s book is no exception. Even if the author’s main intention, as she said in an interview, was to tell «the story of a woman approaching 40 and reconquering her sexuality and it is rediscovered precisely at the moment in which society traditionally considers women to be no longer desirable.” Between empowerment and passionate scenes, The Idea of You it is the perfect guilty pleasure of the beginning of spring. With a bonus: on May 2nd, together with the film, “Dance Before We Walk”, a single by the fake band August Moon, will also be released, just to keep daydreaming. And to the sound of music.
