“I don’t care what they have to say.”

I’m not sure any single person knows how to properly explain it, but if you’re lucky enough when it comes to real love you just know the second it hits, washing over your entire being like a wave you want to bathe with and bask in forever, and The Idea of You doesn’t pretend to know how that magic spell is cast either. You simply feel it, wholly and fully. That’s what this movie gets right. It might be a little longer than it needed to be, and the script could’ve been tighter, but the film is authentic and the grand emotions are earned. What a great reminder it is that true loves persists, that it’s valid no matter outside opinions, and that only we stamp the expiration date on how long we will something to last.

They meet accidentally. Solène (Anne Hathaway) runs a small art gallery, shares custody of her daughter Izzy (Ella Rubin) with her ex-husband Daniel (Reid Scott, whose awful performance flatlines the few scenes he’s in), and isn’t tempted by the bland suitors swimming around the dating pool she briefly dips her toes into. Work comes up for Daniel – as always – and Solène’s planned solo camping trip morphs into her taking Izzy and a few friends to Coachella. They even have VIP access to August Moon, a boy band big enough to command the center stage but not relevant enough to mean much to Izzy anymore. Solène has to use the restroom, wanders around like the mom she is, and exits the bathroom door to see Hayes Campbell (Nicholas Galitzine), comfortably sitting in his trailer. Their meet-cute lingers because of how the two actors allow their eyes to express a silenced want. We know they’ll meet again. They must. After all, isn’t this a Cinderella love story? Cute beats throughout – like a watch being left behind instead of a shoe – suggest it is so.

Hayes & Solène reconnect. Montages help move the plot along well, and the film knows when to slow things down for dramatic effect, even if it does tend to repeat some of the beats with less of an impact each time around; only so much back and forth emotion can really register as true. But the real selling point here is the deeply sincere performance from Hathaway, who seems to be channeling her own struggles with a public relationship gone awry. In Solène, she portrays a woman who confidently feels what she wants but is also unsure of herself because of outside prejudice. The younger Hayes wants to be with the older Solène. She yearns for the same but fears the media attention and anonymous online hate. Yet their eyes twinkle when they see each other, and like I said before, love persists when it’s nurtured and acknowledged. Flowers don’t blossom overnight.

Going in, I thought that Michael Showalter seemed liked a curious director to adapt Robinne Lee’s novel, and despite the lack of his usual slapstick antics and zany humor, the movie still feels like something from his otherwise sentimental universe, transitioning between tones to sell the seriousness of this sprouting relationship. The Idea of You has heart, soul, lust, love, and every other kind of sentiment you’d search for in a lifelong partner. But most importantly, it shows two people who want one another and reciprocate that affection in equal measure. Something that real and honest should be – and ultimately is – enough to mind the gap between the two. Love is the bridge, and these two characters make the walk across a delightful journey full of required connecting flights in order to reach that final shot. It’s time well spent.

“We still have time.”

Rating: 3.5 out of 5