Director: Christian Ditter
Cast: Lily Collins, Sam Claflin, Tamsin Egerton, Jaime Winstone, Christian Cooke, Lily Laight
Certificate: 15
Run Time: 99 minutes
Extras: Interviews with Lily Collins, Sam Claflin and Cecelia Ahern, Making Of… and Music Video: Mimi and the Mad Noise Factory ‘Get Me Back’
If you’re a fan of the Cecelia Ahern novels (more specifically, of Where Rainbows End) then LOVE, ROSIE is the film for you! If not, then stay away – far, far away…
Rosie (Collins) and Alex (Claflin) have been best friends since the age of five. Inseparable, the pair do everything together – including sharing a romantic (if drunk) kiss on Rosie’s 18th birthday. With plans to move away to America to study, it seems Rosie and Alex are destined to be together forever, maybe not romantically but as best friends/soulmates. However, the night of their prom leads Rosie down a completely different life path, meaning she has to let go of her big USA dreams. Will their friendship survive the years and distance? Where fate (and Ahern’s writing) is involved, anything can happen.
Now, although my star rating is low, hear me out. I’m judging LOVE, ROSIE as a film, not as a version of the novel, as I haven’t read the book. In its own right, LOVE, ROSIE has everything you want in a romantic drama – romance (obviously), drama (obviously), chemistry, friction, and a [SPOILER ALERT!] happy ending. Yes, it fulfills every obvious convention of the genre, but it tries to have fun doing so.
Lily Collins and Sam Claflin have obvious chemistry throughout the story, giving the idea that these ‘meant to be together best friends’ (who, strangely, don’t seem to age between 18 and 30) are really, truly meant to be. They bounce off of each other seamlessly, creating an engaging and believable relationship, it’s almost a shame they’re not together. While Alex is adventurous and out to have fun, Rosie has her feet firmly on the ground, all her thoughts focused on how she’s planning to open her own hotel, with their contrasting personalities reiterating the idea that ‘opposites attract’.
However, while Collins and Claflin lead the way, the rest of the cast are a little wooden and dull, including Claflin’s love interest Bethany, played by Suki Waterhouse, who meanders somewhere between an upper class British accent and a cheesy American one…even though her character isn’t American. Sadly, the stale acting brings down the charm of Collins and Claflin (lets call them Coflin) and drags the film down with it. Paired with the generic plot and character development, LOVE, ROSIE may impress die-hard romance addicts/Ahern fans, but will put off many others.
While Coflin are the quintessential rom-com couple, LOVE, ROSIE does nothing to expand the genre, just feeding into what’s already available (and far more interesting).
[usr=2] LOVE, ROSIE is released on DVD and Blu-ray from 2nd March.
