She is Love (2023)
Directed by Jamie Adams
Written by Jamie Adams
Starring Haley Bennett, Sam Riley, Marissa Abela
Release Date February 3rd, 2023
Published January 28th, 2023
Through some trick or fate, oddball Patricia ends up a cottage somewhere in England that happens to be the same cottage that her ex-husband, Idris (Sam Riley), is staying at with his new love, Louise (Marisa Abela). Patricia and Idris have not seen each other in 10 years and that, along with the supremely awkward scenario, becomes the subject of Jamie Adams' comedy of modern manners, She is Love. All of it playing out in Jamie Adams' intimate fly on the wall fashion.
Reminiscing is a fascinating subject. We all have memories we share with others, and it is fascinating to compare how you remember things. She is Love engages with that idea between Patricia and Idris and the power of their memories together is palpable. Their chemistry remains even after nearly a decade apart. Bennett and Riley's conspiratorial glances and emotional bond bubbles with life and energy. Scene after scene they find odd little asides, things to do to fill the seemingly endless amount of time they have in this cottage.
Neither appears to have any reason to be where they are. Louise is here for a movie role. We see her reading lines and struggling to get into character. Ironically, the dialogue she's practicing mirrors the situation she's in as her character laments not wanting to spend time reflecting on the past. Louise is very much an outsider in this situation and her insecurity isn't played for laughs, nor is her cluelessness as she leaves her boyfriend alone with his ex-wife.
At one moment, the film stops to allow Louise to express all of her tense emotions in a lonely dance to an upbeat French song. It's a lovely and revealing moment, capturing the anxiety of both her professional and personal struggle. I love the small ways that Adams allows her the space to explore her emotions. She's not a foolish character. In other, lesser movies, she'd be the villain standing in the way of true love between a pair of exes. Jamie Adams doesn't waste time on such things.
Find my full length review at Geeks.Media linked here
