Forget comics and old TV series. The most clicked IP address of the moment could be a fan fiction on Harry Styleswhich inspired the late-successful franchise After (whose fourth film, After Ever Happyhas a title that would leave even Lewis Carroll perplexed) and now The Idea of Youa romantic drama based on the novel by Robinne Lee (on Amazon Prime Video). To be sure, Lee said the glamorous young pop star at the center of her story is an amalgam of many British idols. What stands out above all, however, is Styles’ character.
Hayes Campbell is the tattoo-covered star of a boy band beloved (both metaphorically and literally) by legions of young fans. She is about to embark on a solo career, which promises to be more serious and refined. She likes dating older women. In the film of Michael ShowalterHayes is played by Nicholas Galitzinethe English boy who recently made hearts beat in Red, white & blue blood, a love story between rich gay scions. Galitzine doesn’t have the same sly ways as Styles, but he can certainly imitate them when needed.
However, he is charming enough to effortlessly ensnare the forty-year-old Solène (Anne Hathaway), a gallery owner from Los Angeles who meets him by chance while accompanying her daughter Izzy (Ella Rubin) at Coachella. Solène mistakes Hayes’ trailer for the VIP bathroom, the two meet and a whirlwind romance is born.
It’s a cheerfully silly story, and yet, much to the credit of Showalter and her co-writer Jennifer Westfeldt, everything is taken very seriously. This romantic comedy has no shortage of comedy and certainly no lack of romance, but above all it is a touching story of the ups and downs of a taboo relationship. Also thanks to the elegance of the photography (by Jim Frohna) and the soundtrack (by Siddhartha Khosla), The Idea of You it has a constant charm. She is seductive and exciting in the right ways: she gives free rein to the imagination without failing to complicate it.
Even when you get lost inerotic ecstasy, Hathaway is measured and collected. There is an appropriate maturity in her, which proves essential for the purposes of the story. If Solène were a confused cinematic creature, who reacts to these unusual circumstances in the usual funny and awkward ways, the film would descend into absurdity. But Hathaway keeps her character in check, convincing us with every choice Solène makes, that she tries to remain pragmatic even when she behaves recklessly.
The period between the first secret kiss (a scene of disarming serenity that produces sensational results) and the declared flirtation could have been explored more deeply. There probably would have been more hesitation and negotiation than we see in the film. But Showalter is too determined to win us over to get bogged down in annoying descriptions. The 24-year-old Hayes, intelligent and kind, is more candid than his real-life counterpart, which could be an elusive element of movie magic. But you can also choose to believe that this lonely boy is actually as decent as he seems (there is even some dialogue that supports this thesis).
The Idea of You is much more respectful of its characters than many other streaming films. The screenplay is witty, direct and believable. As it progresses, the film sets aside euphoria to analyze the unbearable hell of fame. The answers are not as easy as you might expect, and flights of fancy are fraught with consequences. The film doesn’t go easily.
But above all it’s fun. There are secret trysts in hotel rooms and flirtations on private jets, underlined by the heady feeling that it’s all a sadly fleeting dream, stolen from reality. It’s not the sex festival, but, just like the recent one Challengers, what fuels it is the energy of implicit sex, of the passion that guides people towards deeper experiences. Showalter would seem to be an unsuitable director for this material, yet he directs the film with grace, infusing it with a tense and languid pace at the same time. Above all, the story is never treated with disdain, and every irony about the absurd thing that is happening to Solène is adequately contextualized. In other words: she laughs with the movie, not of the movie.
