• Pop Culture
    • Movies
    • Television
    • Comic Books
    • Video Games
    • Toys & Collectibles
  • Features
    • News
    • Reviews
    • Articles and Opinions
    • Interviews
    • Exclusives
    • Flickering Myth Films
    • FMTV
  • About
    • About Flickering Myth
    • Write for Flickering Myth
    • Advertise on Flickering Myth
  • Socials
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
    • Bluesky
    • Instagram
    • Flipboard
    • Linktree
    • X
  • Terms
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy

Flickering Myth

Geek Culture | Movies, TV, Comic Books & Video Games

  • News
  • Reviews
  • Articles & Opinions
  • Write for Us
  • The Baby in the Basket

Movie Review – Only You (2019)

August 5, 2019 by Matt Rodgers

Only You, 2019.

Directed by Harry Wootliff
Starring Laia Costa, Josh O’Connor, Lisa McGrillis, Natalie Arle-Toyne, Isabelle Barth, Tam Dean Burn, Stuart Martin

SYNOPSIS:

A chance encounter between two complete strangers, Jake (Josh O’Connor) and Elena (Laia Costa), results in them sharing a Taxi ride home on New Year’s Eve that sparks a movie-spanning relationship.

Love is a subject that has been tackled on the big-screen for time immemorial, yet Harry Wootliff’s directorial debut manages to create fresh scar tissue with its achingly realistic take on the minutiae of a modern relationship.

It might start like your average boy-meets-girl tale, with crossed wires cab-hailing acting as the meet-cute, but from thereon it’s a mirror-to-the-world mix of the embryonic euphoria of new love, followed by the appearance of insidious fracture lines that irreparably change this couple forever.

Only You is not an easy watch. It picks at the scabs of uncertainty that beset most couples, perfectly capturing the different shades of falling, and staying in love. Beautifully complex doesn’t even begin to cover it.

The value of self-worth is prevalent through Elena’s struggles in trying to conceive a child. Among many moments that’ll threaten to crack your own resolve as a viewer, there’s one in which she questions her value as a woman because of her failed pregnancies. It’s heart-breaking, but one of a number of aspects of Wootliff’s screenplay that challenges the expectations which are placed upon us by ourselves, society, and those whose lives we surround ourselves with.

Carrying the weight of this is an exceptional performance from Laia Costa (stunning in one-shot masterpiece Victoria), who delivers a transformative, painfully honest depiction of a woman dealing with the pressures of living a life in which tick boxes have been created by a set of pre-determined societal rules, and where she now feels like a failure. The psychological burden of this is etched all over Costa’s face, and is all-the-more painful because we’ve journeyed with her from the sweet, playful origins of her relationship with Jake.

He’s equally well drawn, with O’Connor backing up his charming performance in God’s Own Country with a tender, sympathetic, and utterly compelling turn. Their chemistry is palpable, with the intimate sex-scenes between the two brilliantly used as punctuation for the state of their relationship, and a final reel café confrontation that’s as finely acted as anything you’ll see this year. It’s the kind of on-screen pairing who say as much with silence as they do with reams of dialogue.

Wootliff frames the film impressively, her use of colours prominent as the love-story goes from the brightly lit scenes of young love, but dulls towards an autumn of hard-decision making for Elena and Jake. There’s also a wonderful piece of shot composition to look out for, in which the couple are separated by a wall partition during a particularly emotional scene. It feels as unforced and naturalistic as the entire movie.

A stripped-back contemporary fable, Only You is a grown-up film about grown-up people, one that’ll threaten to break your heart as often as it makes it skip-a-beat.

Flickering Myth Rating – Film ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie ★ ★ ★ ★

Matt Rodgers – Follow me on Twitter

Filed Under: Matt Rodgers, Movies, Reviews Tagged With: Harry Wootliff, Isabelle Barth, Josh Oconnor, Laia Costa, Lisa McGrillis, Natalie Arle-Toyne, Only You, stuart martin, Tam Dean Burn

FMTV – Watch Our Latest Video Here

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:

10 Movie Franchises That Need To End

Incredible TV Shows That Were Cancelled Too Soon

15 Great Feel-Good Sing-a-Long Movies

7 Great Body Switch Movies You Might Have Missed

10 Great Movies You Can Only Watch Once

The 1990s in Comic Book Movies

Elvira: Mistress of the Dark Revisited: The Birth of a Horror Icon

The Most Iconic Cult Classics of All Time

The Essential Exorcism Movies of the 21st Century

The Most Obscure & Shocking John Waters Movies

WATCH OUR MOVIE NOW FOR FREE ON PRIME VIDEO!

Top Stories:

Movie Review – Him (2025)

The Essential Robert Redford Movies

Movie Review – Steve (2025)

Movie Review – One Battle After Another (2025)

Comic Book Review – Deadpool/Batman #1

Movie Review – In Vitro (2025)

Movie Review – Ballad of a Small Player (2025)

The Essential Action Movies From Cannon Films

4K Ultra HD Review – Krull (1983)

Eight Essential Sci-Fi Prison Movies

STREAM FREE ON PRIME VIDEO!

FEATURED POSTS:

10 Great Forgotten Erotic Thrillers You Need To See

Max Headroom: The Story Behind the 80s A.I. Icon

Incredible Character Actors Who Elevate Every Film

10 Great Forgotten Movie Gems Worth Seeking Out

Our Partners

  • Pop Culture
    • Movies
    • Television
    • Comic Books
    • Video Games
    • Toys & Collectibles
  • Features
    • News
    • Reviews
    • Articles and Opinions
    • Interviews
    • Exclusives
    • Flickering Myth Films
    • FMTV
  • About
    • About Flickering Myth
    • Write for Flickering Myth
    • Advertise on Flickering Myth
  • Socials
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
    • Bluesky
    • Instagram
    • Flipboard
    • Linktree
    • X
  • Terms
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy

© Flickering Myth Limited. All rights reserved. The reproduction, modification, distribution, or republication of the content without permission is strictly prohibited. Movie titles, images, etc. are registered trademarks / copyright their respective rights holders. Read our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. If you can read this, you don't need glasses.


 

Flickering MythLogo Header Menu
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Articles & Opinions
  • Write for Us
  • The Baby in the Basket