Love Story Between Ages of Middle-Aged Women
Falling in love makes people happy and makes them seem blind because they don't care about obstacles, including age differences.
This article has been translated using AI. See Original .
About AI Translated Article
Please note that this article was automatically translated using Microsoft Azure AI, Open AI, and Google Translation AI. We cannot ensure that the entire content is translated accurately. If you spot any errors or inconsistencies, contact us at hotline@kompas.id, and we'll make every effort to address them. Thank you for your understanding.
Hayes Campbell (Nicholas Galitzine) and Solène (Anne Hathaway) in the film The Idea of You.
Supposedly, love is blind because it is not willing to judge based on appearance, wealth, and even age. As a result, those who are in the throes of falling in love will always try to understand any shortcomings of their beloved.
Love is also said to be able to come suddenly and unexpectedly. Once hit by Cupid's arrow of love, one can only surrender and accept it with joy.
The concept of love is at the heart of the story romantic drama film The Idea of You (2024), adapted The famous novel with the same title and published in 2017 by Robinne Lee. This film, directed by Michael Showalter, was produced originally and will be broadcast on the pay online film player channel (OTT) Prime Video as of May 2, 2024.
Hayes Campbell (Nicholas Galitzine) and Solène (Anne Hathaway) in the film The Idea of You.
This romantic drama film about lovers of different ages is told involving a divorced single mother, who has just turned 40, Solène (Anne Hathaway). While dropping off her only child, Izzy (Ella Rubin), and her two friends, Solène meets and gets to know Hayes Campbell (Nicholas Galitzine).
This film is intended to focus on a middle-aged woman who tries to reclaim her sexuality to a point where society traditionally overlooks women.
Hayes himself is the lead singer of a youth vocal group (boyband) which is currently on the rise and is loved by many fans, August Moon. The August Moon boyband group is currently playing at the Coachella Music Festival.
Solène accidentally entered Hayes' cabin as he was preparing to perform. In that brief encounter, sparks of romance began to develop between them. It was unexpected for the singer who was almost twice Solène's age to boldly seek and visit the workplace of the middle-aged divorced woman.
One of the scenes in the film The Idea of You.
In the film, Solène is described as working as a curator and art dealer at an art gallery in the city where she lives. Under the pretext of looking for art objects to fill his new house, Hayes manages to attract Solène's attention.
Since then, they started secretly dating. It wasn't just an ordinary dating relationship, their interaction was described as intense and filled with many fiery and hot romantic scenes.
Also read: Love is Only for the Brave
Through her romance, Solène found and redefined her life story. This was also acknowledged by the author of the novel who was also involved in the scriptwriting of its film adaptation, Robinne Lee, as quoted in her opinion article on Time.com.
In a dialogue, Solène describes herself as a woman who married at a young age and seems to have missed out on her youth. This is because when she was in her 20s, she and her boyfriend got married and had a child. Emotionally, she admits that she did not experience what girls her age usually go through because she was busy taking care of her baby, husband, and small family.
However, in her middle age, Solène experienced another crisis that affected her self-confidence and self-worth. This was due to her husband, her college sweetheart whom she married, confessing to having another woman as his ideal partner.
The fact became even more traumatizing as Solène discovered that everyone around her, especially her colleagues and ex-husband, had actually known for a long time. When Solène finally found out that her husband was cheating, it was already too late.
Izzy (Ella Rubin) and Solène (Anne Hathaway) in the film The Idea of You.
What was even more painful was that her husband, Daniel (Reid Scott), even stated that he was in love with his mistress.
Inspired by Harry Styles
Regarding her novel, the author, Robinne Lee, confirmed that one of the main characters in the story, Hayes, was inspired by a number of famous people. In addition to being inspired by Prince Harry of the United Kingdom, Hayes, who is an idol singer in the story, is said to closely resemble the real-life singer Harry Styles.
Also read: Emotion, Sensuality, and Director Guadagnino's Old Formula
In the real world, it is known that famous pop singer Harry Styles often dates women who are much older. In terms of physical appearance, both Styles and the character Hayes also have a casual appearance with various tattoo images scattered on their bodies.
In one of the dialogues, Hayes is also described as having a desire and ambition to be taken more seriously in the music world, as Styles also desires in the real world. Although acknowledging there are many similarities, the novelist positions herself more from a female perspective.
Hayes Campbell (Nicholas Galitzine) and Solène (Anne Hathaway) in the film The Idea of You.
"The film is intended to focus on a middle-aged woman who tries to reclaim her sexuality to the point where society traditionally overlooks women. So, although there is a story about an age difference romance with a celebrity, it is a popular fan fiction metaphor. The similarity is only surface-level," said Lee.
Despite that, there is a fundamental difference between Lee's novel version and Showalter's film version. According to Radiotimes.com, the director wanted to present an ending that is far more "hopeful" than the novel's version.
"So, of course, we could end this film in a different way. However, for this story, we felt that a happier ending would be the most satisfying for our viewers. And ultimately, the audience is the most important thing when making a film like this," he said in an interview with Radiotimes.com.
