Movie Reviews
The Idea of You Movie Review: Anne Hathaway’s honest performance makes the film stand out in a not so formulaic rom-com
Anne Hathaway’s The Idea of You showing on Amazon Prime Video is pure fluff which will make you feel happy. And with so much happening around us, we really need movies like this.
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No it is not a regular fan fiction. In fact, it is not a fan fiction at all. For me, it is why sadistic people around us hate happy women. When you hit rock bottom emotionally, you will find people loving you and caring for you. But when you are happy and at the high in your life, then people start having problems.
Anne Hathaway’s
The Idea of You
teaches you when you hit rock bottom, you have nowhere to go, but up. That’s exactly what happened to Solène (Anne Hathaway), a recently divorced woman just about to hit 40. She unknowingly lands up in a relationship with a British boy band sensation Hayes Campbell (Nicholas Galitzine).
Solène is in a dilemma because Campbell is way younger to her and on top of that he is the heart throb of many young girls. And he is hugely rich and famous too. It is just that Solène (Anne Hathaway) didn’t know who he was. Solène is a stylish woman who was initially unimpressed by his celebrity status. The Idea of You is a fresh take on the popular rom-com-drama formula
The initial part of the film deals with how she has still not come to terms with her sudden divorce and how she was the last one to know that her husband was cheating with her. She got married young and had a baby was very early on life and while she was struggling with motherhood and setting up her art gallery, the husband was having an affair with a lawyer from his firm. The wound of her husband cheating on her is still raw and she is still dealing with it. Burdened with responsibilities of motherhood and loneliness, she really doesn’t know what she wants from life.
Even when Solène (Anne Hathaway) meets Hayes Campbell (Nicholas Galitzine) she is totally confused. Campbell is in his twenties and madly in love with her. She feels that the relationship with a young man just doesn’t fit in her life and on top of that she has got a young girl. But she can’t stop herself from meeting him and being loved by him. Yet at the back of her mind there is always that feeling of guilt and things get worse when the intimate images of her and Hayes Campbell (Nicholas Galitzine) got leaked on the internet. She gets slut-shamed by Campbell’s fans.
The Idea of You is a feel good film and most importantly it is always refreshing to see good looking actors on screen. And with Anne Hathaway flashing her million-dollar dolphin smile every now and then, you definitely can’t take your eyes off her. The place where both Solène (Anne Hathaway) and Hayes Campbell (Nicholas Galitzine) are in an intense kissing scene and she, a single mother of a teenage daughter, stops herself from getting more intimate by saying, “I could be your mother.” And to this Hayes quickly says, “But you are not.” So, that’s the whole dilemma of Solène.
There is something very pure and beautiful in the way the love between the two are shown. Never for once, will you feel the relationship to be dirty. The simple love and attraction between the two is shown in such a beautiful way makes it a great weekend watch. The music, the styling, and the outfits are great. The story is simple and pure fluff, so just enjoy it!
Rating: 3 out of 5
By ABBIE BERNSTEIN / Staff Writer
Posted: May 8th, 2026 / 08:34 PM
AFFECTION movie poster | ©2026 Brainstorm Media
Rating: Not Rated
Stars: Jessica Rothe, Joseph Cross, Julianna Layne
Writer: BT Meza
Director: BT Meza
Distributor: Brainstorm Media
Release Date: May 8, 2026
AFFECTION is an odd title for this tale. While it is about a number of topics and emotions, fondness isn’t one of them. Obsession, definitely. Love, possibly. The kind of general warm fellow feelings associated with “affection”? No.
There have been a lot of movies lately in which characters – mostly women – are grappling with false identities and/or false memories imposed upon them, mostly by men.
Let us stipulate that the protagonist (Jessica Rothe) in AFFECTION is not an android or in an artificial reality. However, we can tell something is way off from the opening sequence. A car is stalled on a tree-bordered highway. Rothe’s character is lying face down on the asphalt beside it, possibly dead.
But then the young woman rises, dragging a broken ankle. She experiences a full-body seizure. Fighting to recover, she sees oncoming headlights and tries to run, only to be hit by a car.
The woman wakes up in a bed she doesn’t recognize, next to a man (Joseph Cross) she likewise is sure she’s never seen before. One big confrontation later, the man says his name is Bruce – and that the woman is his wife, Ellie.
Ellie insists that her name is Sarah Thompson, and she is married to someone else, with a son. When she sees her reflection in a mirror, she doesn’t relate to the face looking back at her.
Bruce counters that Ellie has a rare neurological condition that causes her to block out her waking life and believe her dreams are real. This is why they agreed, together, to move to this isolated house, without the kinds of interruptions that can hinder Ellie’s recovery.
The set-up is presented in a way where we share Ellie’s skepticism. But Ellie and Bruce’s little daughter Alice (Julianna Layne) immediately identifies Ellie as “Mommy!” Alice appears to be too young to be in on any kind of deception, so what is going on here?
AFFECTION eventually explains this via a helpful videotape, though it’s so convoluted that viewers watching on streaming may want to replay the sequence to make sure they understand the exposition.
Writer/director BT Meza musters a sense of menace and lurking weirdness, as well as making great use of his location.
We still have a lot of questions, many of which are still unanswered by the film’s end. It may not matter to the points AFFECTION is trying to make, but a better sense of exactly how all this started might help our investment.
As it is, despite a heroically versatile performance by Rothe, a credible and anguished turn by Cross and appealing work from Layne, we’re so busy trying to piece together what’s important and what’s not and how we’re supposed to feel about all of it that it can be hard to keep track of the action as it unfolds.
Agree or not, Meza’s arguments are lucid and illustrated clearly by AFFECTION’s events. However, the movie is structured in a way that becomes more frustrating as it goes. We comprehend it intellectually but can’t engage viscerally.
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RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — In this episode of 8News Reel Talk, digital producer Julia Broberg is joined by anchor Deanna Allbrittin and reporter Allison Williams to talk about “The Devil Wears Prada 2.”
The hosts gave their reviews and assigned the following star ratings:
Deanna: ★★★★.5
Allison: ★★★.25
Julia: ★★
To watch more livestreams and digital video content, head to the WRIC+ Originals page. You can also watch full on-demand videos on your smart TV using the WRIC+ app.
Billie Eilish fans prepare yourself, the much talked about secret project has finally arrived on the big screens!
Billie Eilish has always been about intimacy over artifice, but her latest concert film takes that to a visceral new level. Co-directed by Eilish and James Cameron, Billie Eilish – Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D) manages to bridge the gap between a massive stadium show and the quiet grit of life backstage.
The film starts 18 minutes out from the show and builds the tension until audiences are literally folded into a box with her. Being taken under the stage, passing fans who have no idea she’s inches away, sets a tone of total immersion. What makes this film different is the balance between the spectacle and the behind-the-scenes reality. We see the creative shorthand between Billie and James Cameron as they chase what she calls the “best kind of sensory overload”.
The film is very much fan focussed, with the sound mix being so specific that you can hear individual fans singing along in sync with the visuals.
There are so many standout moments, the handheld camera work during “Bad Guy” that gives a dizzying POV of the band, and the chilling minute of silence Billie requests from the crowd to record a vocal loop.
The film captures her unique stage presence. Influenced by rap culture, Billie refuses to have anyone else on stage, unlike many female artists that use back up dancers. Billie can hold the entire stadium in awe by herself which is incredible to witness, until Finneas joins her for a beautiful, emotional piano set.
Between the high-tech visuals and the “Puppy Room” (where she keeps rescue dogs for staff to decompress), the film feels incredibly personal. While the film doesn’t give us any new insights into Billie, Billie Eilish – Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D) is an enjoyable experience that elevates the tradition concert film.
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