Not too happily ever after

Johnson Thomas

This film, an adaptation of the first book from Anna Todd’s series of novels, is an example of young adult fan-fiction at its worst. The book itself was insipid, had compromising grammatical and logical errors, and characters modelled on the stereotype teen demographic that venerates Harry Styles, One Direction and their ilk.

The film fails at just about every level. Imagine a boy-girl romance where the protected, conservative, studious, virgin, Tessa (Josephine Langford) meets up with Hardin (Hero Fiennes Tiffin), a rebellious bad-boy-with-tattoo type, who thinks nothing of tricking her into having sex with him – all on a Truth or Dare! And then conveniently falls in love with her - spending the latter 15-20 minutes of the film trying to convince Tessa to believe in his love.  

The writing is appallingly insipid, every bit clichéd and ticking up tropes along the way. Josephine Langford tries to appeal to our tortured senses with her appalling naïveté and does a fairly good job too – but the unflattering characterisations and the general myopia evident in this telling puts a full-stop to any affect. Hero Fiennes-Tiffin, neither a Darcy nor a Heathcliffe (that’s what screenwriter Susan McMartin hoped to channelize) makes the whole lackadaisical narrative look even more ordinary. Peter Gallagher as Hardin’s estranged, soon-to-be-married-again-dad, doesn’t have much to do other than introduce his fiancée Karen (Jennifer Beals). 

And the drama of a teen boy enraged at his father for abandoning his mother and wanting to remarry seems so passé that it has absolutely no impact. Selma Blair as Tessa’s overprotective, controlling mother looks good but there’s no gravitas in her performance either. The narrative just chugs along without affect even though littered with indie/pop tunes, including Avril Lavagne’s ‘Complicated.’ There’s no chemistry between the lead players and the lack of an interesting spin to give the story some potency, is unforgivable. There’s nothing more depressing than a romance that feels uninteresting and contrived. There’ no relief here and you would surely be hard pressed to find any interest or engagement either!