Love at First Sight, 2023.
Directed by Vanessa Caswill.
Starring Haley Lu Richardson, Ben Hardy, Rob Delaney, Sally Phillips, Jameela Jamil, Tom Taylor, Katrina Nare, David Rubin, Tracy Wiles, and Dexter Fletcher.
SYNOPSIS:
Hadley and Oliver begin to fall for each other on their flight from New York to London. The probability of ever finding each other again seems impossible, but love – and London – may have a way of defying the odds.
This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, Love at First Sight wouldn’t exist.
Vanessa Caswill’s Love at First Sight (adapted by Katie Lovejoy based on Jennifer E. Smith’s book The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight) announces itself as more about the statistics that go into various scenarios surrounding love, whether it be a blossoming romance, solidified love tackling marriage, or the grief that comes from one half of a partnership preparing to pass on from cancer.
This is made clear upfront through its bubblegum pop soundtrack, which contains lyrics exclaiming “everything’s going to go my way,” as if acknowledging that it’s a given that, regardless of what complications arise between the central protagonists and their mutual attraction to another, this story is going to turn out okay. Here, the romantic comedy formula is something to embrace, proudly written as fate with a dose of magical realism in the form of a narrator (Jameela Jamil) that frequently appears in different, small roles manipulating reality to keep the inevitable lovebirds on a gentle collision course. Thankfully, though, there is more than numbers to this story.
The location for the meet-cute is an American airport, where Haley Lu Richardson’s Hadley Sullivan is late, barreling towards her flight’s gate with a cell phone low on battery power. One could say she is unprepared and leaves everything to chance, apparently including potentially missing her father’s (Rob Delaney) second wedding, at least until he saves the day by booking her a business class flight to arrive in the knick of time. During this downtime waiting for the next flight, she comes across math nerd Oliver (Ben Hardy), studying abroad in America but returning home to the UK for a family occasion. He is the polar opposite of Hadley, leaving nothing to chance and throwing out several random statistics that don’t always contain much crossover, leaving one wondering what he is studying in the first place.
Nevertheless, the gimmick here is that while Hadley and Oliver strike up a conversation and slowly get to know one another, believably taking a liking to each other due to charming and sugary sweet chemistry between Haley Lu Richardson and Ben Hardy (you groan that these two are the only conventionally attractive people in the entire airport, alongside the whole setup, but easily learn to roll with it since the banter and flirtation between them is effectively cute and that they do seem like a wonderful match), something goes awry separating them, threatening to the audience that they might never see each other again until fate intervenes.
This is unquestionably a corny plot mechanic that leaves no room for attention or urgency, but the filmmakers do find room to explore the individual lives of these characters. The middle stretch here essentially follows each character interacting with their families, providing insight into love through different stages of relationships. Hadley is still frustrated that her father’s first marriage ended in divorce, which has also turned her off from the idea of getting married, but she comes to learn a lesson or two upon reconnecting with them and meeting his fiancée for the first time. Meanwhile, Oliver hides (because his obsession with numbers is, in actuality, a defense mechanism for fear) that he is visiting his family to attend a Shakespearean-themed living memorial for his dying mother (Sally Phillips.)
Oddly enough, the statistics presented are mostly forgettable and don’t register as interesting, and while there probably is some basis for the majority of them, it does often feel like the movie is pulling numbers out of its ass about random situations. However, everything about the leads and their families feels carefully considered (at least not when hammering viewers in the skull with its endless stream of happy-go-lucky licensed music), portraying them as relatable, grounded people inside this fantasy world where fate continues to push them together.
Love at First Sight is wise, sincere, cute, and touching, not only when it comes to new love but the evolutions of romance and the phrase till death do us part.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com
