‘She Is Love’ Review – A Way Back Into Love That Lacks Spark And Cohesion

Writer-director Jamie Adams appears to be drawn to stories about struggling artists, particularly musicians, and how they navigate their romantic relationships. This is no different in his newest film, She Is Love, which also explores the importance of closure and how easy it is for people to become stuck in their lives when they hold onto the past too tightly. New beginnings are often closer than you think.

Patricia (Haley Bennett) is in England for the weekend for a work trip. Her boyfriend is able to book her a room in a boutique, country inn in Cornwall, but she soon discovers this inn is owned and operated by her ex-husband, Idris (Sam Riley), a washed up DJ and songwriter and his girlfriend, Louise (Marisa Abela). She also happens to be the only lodger. Idris and Patricia haven’t seen each other in a decade and are now locked in an awkward dance with Louise for the entire weekend. The ex-partners are then forced to confront the painful aspects of their failed marriage. 

She Is Love is a visually beautiful film. It opens with Patricia riding in the back of a car through the Cornish countryside as she makes her way to the inn. The landscape stretches across the screen in a wide shot, and soon we are treated to a shot of the beach where Patricia walks while waiting for her check-in time. There is no shortage of dazzling nature shots, including a scene where Louise, who is an aspiring actor, rehearses her lines in the woods. 

Even the scenes that take place in the smaller rooms of the inn look open and warmly lit and almost seem as though they’re expanding at times. The camera stays close to Haley Bennett when she is on screen, often zooming tightly in on her face. This closeness remains in shots with both Bennett and Sam Riley, letting us in on their already present intimacy with one another. 

The film unfolds in an improvisational style with some scenes having the energy of a stage play. The result more so feels like a series of vignettes rather than a more cohesive and overarching plot. There are several moments that essentially become music videos with the characters singing and dancing to both made up and existing songs. Occasionally, when conversations begin to ramp up, quick cuts and edits occur, creating a jarring collage of body language and expression from the actors (this coincidentally is fairly prevalent in a lot of music videos) which derail the momentum.

With the lack of cohesion and fully formed ideas, we’re left to skim the surface. It’s difficult to get invested in any of the characters’ development and emotional arcs. It is definitely exciting to see Haley Bennett in another leading role, especially coming off of the heels of Cyrano. She doesn’t disappoint here, and her co-star, Sam Riley, holds his own acting opposite her, but they’re almost acting in separate movies at times. There are only occasional flashes where it feels like they are on the same wavelength. The film would have benefited from a more concrete and well-thought-out script. Adams may have been going more for raw feeling and vibes, but it’s hard to get close to a place that would even allow for the viewer to get swept up in those things. There is no emotional hook for the audience. 

The aimlessness of the story continues for a large majority of the film, and the characters dance around anything of real substance. In addition to still harboring a small amount of resentment for each other, we get the feeling that Patricia and Idris were both emotionally immature when they were married and haven’t really grown much since the divorce. They partake in drunken and, at times, bizarre activities that are more suited to teens at a sleepover to avoid having any real and meaningful discussions. They’re also both in relationships that allow them to coast, in a sense, without digging through past mistakes and evolving. All of this leads to the only depth and genuine emotion the narrative has, unfortunately occurring in the last fifteen minutes of the film. 

There are brief moments in She Is Love that are glimpses of something truly special: Patricia baring her soul finally, the dark wit and exasperation of Louise, and Idris having a few moments of vulnerability. But the door to these glimpses shuts just as quickly as it opens. These moments never reach their full potential, and nothing moves past the surface. The viewer remains held at arm’s length. 

She Is Love has all of the right elements to be something more substantial and effective, but it is not fully formed. The pacing is odd, and it is, ultimately, a hollow shell of a more meaningful film. It excels in some of its technical aspects: the cinematography, soundtrack, and slow motion dancing. They are all definitely appealing, but none of these things ever allow the film to move past either pieces of a really good music video or several aesthetically pleasing vignettes. Underneath all of that, there is a story of genuine human emotion, involving two people sifting through their pain to help guide each other out of the darkness. That part just needed more attention.

She Is Love is now playing in select theaters and available on all major digital platforms courtesy of Brainstorm Media. 

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpuSZnLY0GE]