With Love Movie Review: A no-frills romance with just enough sugar, spice, and everything nice

With Love Movie Review:

Butterfly. There is a reason why Premam, the seminal romance of today’s generation, had the line, “Butterflies are mentally mental, and so is love.” The magical moments of falling in love for the first time, seeing the person you love respond to your advances positively, understanding that their shy smiles were specially reserved for you, and even the retrospectively inconsequential things that meant the world to you back then can all be connected to the unpredictable lepidopteran. But this seemingly harmless butterfly is not just symbolic of the genesis of romance in our hearts and souls, but can also be the harbinger of chaos and confusion when flapping endlessly at one end of the world. This beautiful oscillation between magic and chaos is the crux of director Madhan’s debut film, With Love. 

For any romantic film to work, it needs convincing leads who believe that romance is in the air everywhere. And that is why With Love, which marks the acting debut of Tourist Family filmmaker Abishan Jeevinth, and Anaswara Rajan in her first full-fledged role as a heroine in Tamil cinema, works like a charm, almost. Fresh pairings and fresher casting tend to work in this genre because there are no preconceived notions about what these actors can or can’t do. This also allows mistakes to be made, and With Love has a fair share of them. But the premise of the film is rather simple, and reminds us of some of the more illustrious members of this club. Sathyaseelan (Abishan) loves the idea of love, but is nursing a heartbreak that is pushing him away from the idea. Monisha loves the idea of herself, but has an itch in her head that she needs to scratch before finding what being in love actually means. When they meet for a potential arranged marriage, they realise that their lives were intertwined long before this meetup, and decide to embark on a journey that would change their lives. 

From films like 3 to '96, which sounds too mathematical for my comfort, Tamil cinema has seen its fair share of school-time romances. While it might have similar beats to these films, and even a Premam or Thattathin Marayathu from Nivin Pauly’s golden era, With Love manages to be its own beast simply because it does a careful balancing act. While the impact of high school romance seems really big inside our heads, it is often seen as a passing cloud in the overall scheme of things. With Love gives it the respect it deserves, but it also treats the entire thing with a sense of levity and lightness. That is why, when a schoolboy Sathya (once again, Abishan) falls in love with his classmate Anisha, we see it through the lens of one of his classmates, and not as a member of the film’s audience. The film allows him to make a fool out of himself, but never belittles his advances or emotions. It is a very thin line, and Madhan gets it right. He gets it even better with the depiction of Monisha’s school-time love story, which is a refreshing change of pace. Imagine seeing a '96 through the eyes of Gouri Kishan’s Jaanu or a Premam from Anupama Parameswaran’s Mary. These are some of the standout portions of the film because not only does it get the giggly romance of school kids right, it lends them a sense of dignity, and also includes an unexpected mass moment for Monisha.

While Madhan and Co get the school romance absolutely right, things aren’t always hunky dory with the whole ‘arranged marriage-turning-into-love-marriage’ schbang either. If Bachna Ae Haseeno was about a guy going back in time to apologise for his wrongs, With Love is about two grown people finding their ‘first love’ and proposing to them. Although these portions are a bit too convenient and unnecessarily contrived at times, they serve the purpose of having two unlikely people finding their happily ever afters. While adolescent romance doesn’t necessarily need convincing because the crux of such love stories is the belief that anything can happen, that’s not the case with adult romance. Here, we aren’t always convinced that there is merit in Monisha and Sathya finding solace with each other, but the performances bridge that gap. 

Anaswara does a lot of heavy lifting, and she aces it. While kudos for her decision to dub for her role, there is a distinct Malayalam touch to her Tamil, and it takes time getting used to, simply because she isn’t given a backstory to accommodate the accent. Despite that disconnect, Anaswara dials up the charm as Monisha, and it is her cherubic presence in the school portions and her confident demeanour in the latter portions that ground With Love in firm territory. While she treads on similar grounds to her very own Super Sharanya, Anaswara ensures there is enough difference between the two characters, and makes herself immensely likable as Monisha.  On the other hand, Abishan, who is carefree in the school portions, and is wonderful in a scene where he meets his school crush after years together, needs a bit more confidence. While he definitely grows on you as the movie progresses, things would have been better if he hadn’t resorted to shrieks and screeches to establish humour and childish playfulness. But again, it is clear, just like Tourist Family, that Abishan’s strong suit might be the emotional moments, and he’d get the proportions right in future films. 

Even though the film is completely focussed on these two characters, With Love also has an interesting support cast. Kavya Anil as Anisha is such a calming presence, and her dignified portrayal lends such authenticity to a character that could have slipped into caricature or even worse, condescension and derision. Full points to Kavya and the film’s writing for treating adolescent love with respect, and not stepping into anything remotely taboo for the sake of it. While Sacchin Nachiappan’s Balaji gets a solid arc in the flashback portions, he gets a raw deal in the present. The others, including Harish Kumar, RJ Ananthi, Theni Murugan, and Saravanan, competently serve the purpose of furthering the narrative. 

As always, Sean Roldan’s foot-tapping numbers, especially 'Edhukku Dhaan Indha Kaadhal', sung by Yuvan Shankar Raja, wonderfully encapsulate the confused yet genuine romance between the leads. Sean’s work adds a lot of strength to With Love and allows music to connect us with the story, even when some portions resort to an unnecessary sense of genericity and a surprising amount of melodrama. 

With Love gets a lot of things right, almost, and that is mainly because it gives agency to all of its principal characters. The choices of Sathya, Monisha, Balaji, and Anisha are all treated with respect, and even when it deals with their younger selves, it never infantilises them. Of course, some issues get rushed resolutions, and some others get convenient closures. However, thankfully, With Love, which reins in the urge to be just another launch vehicle, ends up being a romcom that finds the magic in chaos, butterflies fluttering in the right place, and proves once again that love is mentally mental, indeed.