Readers Write In #714: The Idea Of You

By Aadesh Ramaswamy

The film has probably one of my funniest experiences, at least to on the level of a one-liner. Solene (played by the ever-charming Anne Hathaway) and Hayes, have a “break-up“ and due to him being a young and very famous singer, their photos blow up on social media… This is exactly the point where the film took-off for me. We are sadists on a level, aren’t we?

Since I don’t understand where the 3 acts began and end and coalesce, I just thought of of the film as “OUR” films, having 2 halves’… And, in that sense, the first half is quite generic… The leads literally spell out their “traumas” and the sexy and happy stuff happens…So far, genre-ic things. But during a poolside enjoyment with Hayes (as he is on a world tour), Solene is hesitant about wearing a bikini because she is 40 and there are women her daughter’s age wearing a bikini at the pool… She looks at them, sulks, wears something else, and carries of with the grace that Hathaway is filled with. The subsequent scene contains a revelation, one that evokes Solene’s trauma, and even here, as the sadness/drama (sadists, haha) spices up, it felt, still, genre-ic…..

But it is when the angle of social media comes in (and the “2^nd” half begins) and everyone knows that Solene, a 40 yr old “mother” with a “daughter” finds happiness with a 24yr old pop star, that the film actually has something interesting going for it.  Solene’s trauma involves a cheating husband (with whom she singly raises her daughter Izzy) who questions her intent on dating a guy who probably was on their daughter’s posters. And as expected Solene gives badass replies. But what is interesting is that the following scenes, after the confrontation with the ex-husband, act as a “giving back” to Solene herself… Izzy, who was super cool with her mother’s dating, is unable to tolerate the bullying and trolling in school, and distances herself from her mother’s life, by going to the Dad’s house whom she hated for cheating on her mother. The way the scenes act as contrast is beautiful.

So naturally, Solene and Hayes, again have a “break-up” for 5 years, post which, Izzy comes out of school and hence everyone has a happy ending…

The idea of using a 1 medium-intensity “separation” event at midpoint and an even smaller “separation” event at the last 10 mins was really fascinating…

But does it beat, Love and Other Drugs? Nopsiess…..

2^nd Article (

Youth of the Beast looks like Velasquez,Godard and von Trier had a baby, who left them and grew in Japan…