Review of The Idea of You

It's hard to believe this is made by the same director who made the excellent The Eyes of Tammy Faye (2021) ... It starts of too clean ... too sterile. And somehow it doesn't let go of this. Which, if Nancy Meyers would have directed it, would have worked. From the hotel scene on there's some more umpf but it still stays sterile. Script wise there are some problems also. And it's not only the flow of this film, which is rather a disturbed flow. But also some dialogue, and character developments. The daughter and the new lover of the ex-husband are staying too one dimensional. There's talk about feminism in this film. But if you notice how director Michael Showalter's male gaze goes all over Anne Hathaway's body, the feminism flies out of the window. Of course Hathaway should be able to play adult sexuality and show nudity and real passion. She does it well, it's not about that. I think she should do more raw emotions like that. But director Showalter is objectifying Hathaway and not Nicholas Galitzine. Anne Hathaway's character is wearing a shoulderless top at one point. And it's filmed as such that it seems she's standing naked there in front of the camera. Again, this would not bother me at all if the artistic intention felt right. Like in a more realistic drama like how Jessica Lange is all sensual and lustfull in The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981), or again in the hands of Nancy Meyer where in her hands a clean stylised approach would work. Script wise I think you're not being a good mother when you break up with someone whom you really love so that your daughter doesn't have a difficult life at highschool because the people around her behave terribly. At 40 Hathaway's character most know that true love is hard to find. To just quit real love just because society around you is harassing you and your family, isn't a good move. There's real chemistry between Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Galatzine. They both give a really good performance. But the script is lacking, the director is just objectifying too much, he's lacking emotional insight and there's too much perfect hair and make-up going on. Hathaway looks too perfectly groomed ... a bit less, a little bit more realism would have been much better. I would wish for a remake where Hathaway isn't being objectified in that one love making scene but still could be just as true to her character's sexual experience. It's not about showing nudity I'm bothered with. Not at all. II's about the intention, the idea behind it all. Director Michael Showalter isn't showing lots of depth. I loved the performance of the two main actors in this film, only they made it worth my while. I believed their emotions.