Although, Oliver Jones - the protagonist of the movie, says that he is afraid of surprises.
Personally I found this movie surprisngly so enjoyable. A total surprise, because I enjoyed it way more than my expectations. There can be many reasons, but the two from my rational approach says: I know what love feels like; then there is mentioning of Shakespeare and Dickes.
Also the story was bit different from the all time usual: they meet, they get lost, start to think that it just happened, start to move on, and then meet again at the end. It was somewhat like that, but thank God, they did go after the emotional and rational approach. Rather than just regretting everything at the end.
A Happy Ending!
Basic Introduction.
Love at First Sight is a romantic drama directed by Vanessa Caswill, based on Jennifer E. Smith’s novel "The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight."
Characters
| Character | Actor |
|---|---|
| Hadley Sullivan | Haley Lu Richardson |
| Oliver Jones | Ben Hardy |
| Andrew Sullivan | Rob Delaney |
| Tessa Jones | Sally Phillips |
| Narrator | Jameela Jamil |
| Val Jones | Dexter Fletcher |
The Plot.
The story follows Hadley, an American student who misses her flight to London and meets Oliver Jones, a British university student, at the airport.
And I say such a beautiful combo: a literary and clumsy girl; a math geek and calculated person.
The two strike up a conversation and feel an unexpected connection. By a stroke of luck, they end up sitting next to each other on the same flight, spending hours talking, laughing and getting to know one another. However, after landing in London, they become separated. And, just like usual stuff, Hadley loses Oliver’s phone number when her breaks. With no easy way to find each other, they go their separate ways.
Ironically, Hadley is in London to attend her father’s wedding, struggling to accept his decision to remarry after her parents divorce. Oliver, meanwhile, has returned to London for a Shakespeare themed living memorial organised by his terminally ill mother, Tessa, who wants to hear what her loved ones have to say about her while she is still alive. Such a special and unique wish, really loved the concept. Like what good are words, if said behind my back.
As the story unfolds, Hadley discovers the reason for Oliver’s visit, she takes a chance and searches for him at the memorial. They reunite, but their meeting is not quite the romantic moment she imagined. It was bound to happen, because the movie might have ended at that point. So, Oliver - the math geek - struggles to express his feelings about his mother’s illness, relying on statistics and rational explanations instead of acknowledging his grief. Hadley challenges him to be honest about his emotions, but their conversation ends badly.
With that bad turn, both characters begin to analyse their personal struggles. Hadley works through her complicated feelings about her father’s remarriage; while Oliver learns that life, love, loss - mostly emotions, cannot always be understood through numbers.
Finally, circumstances bring them together again at wedding reception. Oliver admits his fears and reveals that his research concerns the statistical probability of love at first sight. They kiss! And the beautiful narrator, Jameela Jamil, reveals that they will spend the rest of their lives together, married for 58 years and raising a daughter.
The Analysis.
I am doing it after some time, and I am really glad to see this portion. I am not going to yap about everything, because there are so many things - I noticed. I will try to keep it short, and then, I will go for the one I loved the most.
First one: "Is it better to have had a good thing and lost it, or never to have had it?"
Hadley loves Charles Dicken, and this quote alone is enoughto prove his worth. It is not a simple question, if you ask me. It might be the hardest one to answer. Because, it talks about the pain. Why would anyone want a good thing to end without ever happening? So the pain, the suffering is what makes us think about the second option.
Personally, I will always choose the first one. Let me suffer, but let me live those moments again. Never having it? Not a single doubt. But yeah, if my existence goes away; I would not care much.
Hadley: "I am breaking all my rules for you."
Oliver: Me too."
This is the ebauty of love. But why do we do such things? Psychology says that we open up wherever we feel safe. It can be anywhere, anyone or any moment. All those feelings we have been avoiding, just come out. Just because we feel loved, cared or closeness.
The Love!
For Hadley, she wants someone to be there for her, to hold her hand through hard times. And she calls it love. Personally, I do not agree with this approach. But hey, before judging her, she has her reasons. Her parents are divorced, so she is scared of losing someone again.
For my personal take, I will let Bulleh Shah's poetry do the explaining:
"Zehar vekh ke peeta te ki peeta, Ishq soch ke keeta te ki keeta, Dil de ke dil lain di aas rakhi, Ve Bulleya, pyaar eho jeha keeta te ki keeta."
English Translation: "You drank poison only after examining it—what kind of drinking was that? You fell in love only after thinking it through—what kind of love was that? You gave your heart hoping to receive a heart in return— O Bulleh, what kind of love was it if you loved with such expectations?" (translated via ChatGpt)
I believe love should not revolve around favor-for-favor approach. It needs to be pure. Delusional!
In the end, there is one last thing worth mentioning: Shakespearean touch.
I absolutely loved how the movie merged Shakespeare, from Oliver's mother's living memorial to the theatrical atmosphere surrounding it. And those dresses Oliver and Hadley wore at the end? They reminded me of Romeo and Juliet, giving them that timeless, almost Shakespearean lovers look. Maybe that is what I loved the most: a little bit of Shakespeare, a little bit of fate and two people who got to live their love story rather than become a tragedy themselves.
So do you believe in love at first sight?
Just remember what Christopher Marlowe said in his poem: "Who ever loved, that loved not at first sight?"
Ratings as of now:
| Rating Source | Rating |
|---|---|
| IMDb | 6.8/10 |
| Rotten Tomatoes | 75% |
| RT Audience | 80% |
| Metacritic | 55/100 |
| Letterboxd | 3.1/5 |
| Personal Rating | 80/100 |
Peace 🕊️
Rating: 80/100
