Lonely Planet Movie Review: A simplistic take on complex characters

Lonely Planet Movie Review: A simplistic take on complex characters

This is, by all means, an easy watch that doesn’t delve deeply into the issues it assigns to its characters
Published on
Lonely Planet(2 / 5)

Susannah Grant’s Netflix film Lonely Planet is the latest addition to Hollywood’s recent obsession with the ‘older, successful woman falls in love with a younger, washboard-abs man’ trope. The film opens with a plane landing in Morocco, and we, the viewers, landing in familiar rom-com territory. The early scenes are over-detailed, especially since the film’s later portions miss out on opportunities for deeper exploration. For instance, there are needless scenes showcasing the hospitality of the resort where the lead pair finds themselves. The characters are mesmerized by the views, but I kept going back to the Netflix homepage, wondering if I had accidentally clicked on an ad for Morocco tourism.

Director: Susannah Grant
Cast: Laura Dern, Liam Hemsworth, Diana Silvers
Streamer: Netflix

The setup is standard rom-com fare: an exotic location, attractive people with baggage, potential threats, and plenty of drinking—you get the picture. Laura Dern plays Katherine Loewe, a successful author dealing with personal turbulence. Her looks seem to take after JK Rowling, and as for her countenance, she seems perpetually annoyed. She meets Owen Brophy (Liam Hemsworth), a private equity employee, whose looks seem to take after Liam Hemsworth, and as for his countenance, well, he seems to speak in only corporate jargon. Within ten minutes, the story becomes predictable. The film hurries from one situation to another, almost as if it’s eager to wrap things up. Despite ample space for character exploration, many scenes fall short of becoming the goldmine for relationship drama they could have been. For example, when Owen feels out of place while others discuss unfamiliar topics, the film doesn’t reveal what they’re talking about, making it hard to grasp Owen’s feelings, which later influence his decisions.

In a film content to remain surface-level, these questions might not arise. But Lonely Planet continually hints at multidimensional characters, only to move swiftly to the next plot point. Why does Katherine, who supposedly dislikes being around people, find herself drawn to Owen? There’s a line along the lines of, “I like you and feel good with you,” but is liking someone you just met enough to make you reconsider your entire life? Why are the characters’ flaws and hypocrisies left largely unexplored? Adding more runtime to the film’s 96-minute duration might have given them scenes showing how they transitioned from point A to point B, rather than just landing at A and B. Once again, we wouldn’t question this if the film’s goal was simply to provide a light-hearted evening watch. However, Lonely Planet sits somewhere between realism and fantasy, and somehow in neither—landing in a space where it’s watchable, so it can motivate you to travel and meet new people. It may not be great for the discerning viewer, but it is surely great for Morocco tourism.

-->
Cinema Express
www.cinemaexpress.com