BONUS ISSUE: My super honest thoughts after seeing a screening of The Idea of You movie 🎥
I saw The Idea of You movie and I have some thoughts...
My favorite book, The Idea of You, has been turned into a movie. It comes out this Friday, May 3. I had the chance to attend an early screening last night. Going into it I was *very* nervous as I had heard there were a lot of differences.
Instead of sharing a million Instagram stories, I decided to contain my chaotic thoughts to Substack. Apologies in advance for if this is ramble-y or if my grammar is even worse than usual.
Did I like it? Is it faithful to the book? Is Anne Hathaway any good at Solene? Did I cry?!!?
Here are my super honest thoughts on the adaptation…
DISCLAIMER: I’ll try and keep BIG spoilers to a minimum and will give you a big warning before I talk about the ending
First things first:
I liked it more than I thought I would.
Even though I was nervous, I wanted to go in with an open mind and an open heart. It would be almost impossible for me to love anything as much as I love the book.
If you want a word-for-word adaptation of the book, this is NOT that. BUT, if you want a movie that follows a 40-year-old mother as she navigates a relationship with a hot, young, pop star, this movie does a beautiful job of telling that story.
When the screening ended I joked with my friend that it was a lowercase “a” “adaptation” rather than a capital “A” “Adaptation.” It changed a lot of things. And some of it I was okay with. I know that some things from a book won’t translate as well to the screen.
I’m currently reading the book How To End a Love Story which is about a novelist being in the writer’s room while her book series is being adapted into a TV show. The book talks about how the process of getting from point A to point B might be different on screen vs. in the book. Of course, the book is fiction and I’ll take it with a grain of salt, but the author is a screenwriter so I’m sure there’s a fair amount of truth.
Going into the movie with that book fresh in my brain made me more forgiving of some of the changes. There are some big changes to Daniel’s (Solene’s ex-husband) story which I thought added depth to who he is and how this relationship affected Solene. There’s a fun and sexy montage to move time along that I loved. I kind of liked that her daugther Izzy was older and more mature.
My biggest issue with the movie is that it’s being described as a “rom-com dram” whereas the book is a dramatic love story, in my opinion. The movie infuses a lot more humor into the mix, sometimes successfully, and sometimes it’s cringey. It’s clear the writers and producers wanted it to live in the rom-com family more than anything. I don’t know if that’s for marketing reasons or because they truly believe it was the right fit for this material.
Because of this ,the vibe is different. When the trailer initially came out I joked with a friend that I wanted less upbeat pop music and more of a broody “Don’t Blame Me” by Taylor Swift.
I liked Anne Hathaway as Solene more than I thought I would.
Her Solene is different from the book — both because of her acting and the writing. I learned during the talkback that the writers had her in mind while writing the script.
My hunch is that they wanted to make Solene more likable. In the book she can come off as a bit cold. I could go on a whole rant about how we don’t need women to be likable in order to enjoy something… but I also understand that a film wants to make money.
My issue with her Solene is that she felt less “badass and powerful” and more “adorably down to earth and relatable.”
Does this make her more sympathetic? Maybe. Does this make me see more of myself in her? Maybe.
But this also made me sad as one of the things I love in the book is that Solene is perfectly fine without a partner. That’s just icing on the cake.
I thought Nicholas Galitzine as Hayes was… okay
Okay, I’m biased. I’ve always pictured a young Harry Styles playing the role. I loved Nicholas Galitzine in the Red, White, and Royal Blue movie but something about him didn’t feel right here. Is he attractive? Sure. But I think he lacks a sort of raw sexual energy that oozes off of him.
I felt the writing was lacking around Hayes. He was a bit more two-dimensional in the movie than in the book. While we get a different backstory, I don’t know if we’re given enough to grasp onto to make him feel fully fleshed out as a person and not just a pop star.
I *do* think the chemistry of Solene + Hayes was there.
The movie is very steamy and sexy for having no nudity.
Where I struggled is that the movie didn’t give their relationship enough time to breathe and just “be.”
The pacing of the movie felt off to me. They spent a lot of time setting up the meet-cute. But then things felt rushed towards the end. In the book, I feel like so much of it is focused around Solene and Hayes’ relationship whereas the movie felt more focused on how they met and the early stage of them being together.
Because of this, I don’t think we got to *really* see the depth of Solene and Hayes’ love and relationship for each other. And because of that the final bits of the movie don’t hit as hard as I want them to (more of that below when I talk about spoilers)
This is probably nit-picky but the match-up of Anne Hathaway and Nicolas Galitzine made the age gap feel almost non-existent. Hayes was aged up to 24 years old in the movie, but even so, they look very close in age on screen. Kudos to Anne Hathaway for being stunning.
This movie is very much about Solene. Hayes is there but more as a vehicle for her journey. So are other characters — we learn next to nothing about the other members of the band Hayes is in. I couldn’t tell you the name of the new BFF character they gave Solene to replace Lulit.
The movie was written and filmed before the Barbie movie came out but I do think the success of the Barbie movie is going to be a good thing for it. Yes, they are tonally VERY different. But both tackle the fact that women can’t win and double standards.
As I said at the beginning, I liked it more than I thought I would.
If I look at it *just* as a movie, I really enjoyed it. Looking at it as an adaptation of my favorite book, it falls flat. It’s missing so much of what makes this book *pop* and something special. This movie could’ve packed a real punch. It could’ve said a lot more about being a woman, art, fame, and aging. Instead it took a more commercial route.
Am I excited to watch it again? Oh yes.
I’m thrilled I was invited to another screening this week (!!) and I plan to watch it many (many) times on my own.
Wrapping things up before I get to some spoilers: The movie is tonally very different than the book. The team was interested in a slightly different story and created the vibe to match it. I hope that this movie sparks people’s interest in the book. I hope people take that opportunity to fall in love with the book version of Solene and Hayes.
Okay, now time for spoilers…
SORT OF SPOILERS AHEAD….
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You’ve been warned! If you don’t want spoilers, go away!
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So, the ending.
What makes the book go from really good to GREAT in my opinion is the soul-crushing ending. You think it’s a romance, which fun fact is required to have a happy ending, and then BAM they break up.
I was very worried about the ending as I had already heard it was not the same as the book. Without fully spoiling the fun I liked it more than I thought I would. It gives more closure, but not so much so that it ruins the vibe.
With that being said, the stuff leading up to the ending is where the film falls a bit flat for me.
They could’ve gone bigger — both with the writing and acting — as they got closer and closer to breaking up.
It didn’t have the full gut punch I was hoping for.
I didn’t cry.
Maybe it’s because I was in a theater with strangers. Maybe it’s because of the writing. Maybe it’s because my personal life is in a different place than when I originally read the book in March 2020.
Whatever it was, it didn’t hit the way I was hoping it would. And maybe I’m a weirdo who likes it when a book, movie, or theater make me sob.
Alrighty, that’s what I got for you. I can’t wait to hear all your thoughts this week!
Kayla
Give me more media and content about unlikable and complex female characters, please.
I can't wait to watch! You've prepared me mentally for what's coming my way. Thank you :)