“Lonely Planet,” by Susannah Grant, should not be confused with the famous tourist site and book series of the same name. The movie is not primarily about a specific place but rather revolves around persons embedded in some hardest of circumstances, in this case somewhere in Morocco. She has not been going through this process alone, at least until the very end, as previously established productive writer Katherine (Laura Dern) has been trying to get her literary voices back for quite some time now. The only thing she wants is to finish up her book where due to her recent break up she has seen no real progress. A fresh new face, however, can be found amongst the transition of heated arguments: Lily Kemp (Diana Silvers), a wannabe, who brings her non hispanic boyfriend Owen (Liam Hemsworth) to the new writer’s circle. Hee observes her when she is surrounded by other artists, how she enjoys their generous praise and that she utterly forgets about him. Instead of remaining in his position and waiting for the mist to clear, he decides to ignore the chaos. While doing that, he does come across Katherine, and perhaps more than just grazy friends.
Many aspects in which she could be said to have improved are still found lacking in Grant’s follow up to her feature debut Catch and Release. Essentially, the romance that forms the backbone of this movie does not take shape at all. The script penned down by Grant does little more than placing Dern in the same frame as the protagonist and was expected to cover the usual aspects in a rom com and in half measures so that it does not appear the protagonist has any great affection towards the guy. Other roles which she can and has performed in the past are better, and such even in supporting roles like Marriage Story where she shone for a minute, it was enough for the audience to realize how good she can be with the right material. In comparison, Hemsworth is so woefully uncharismatic next to Dern, it is hard to understand the appeal of her character’s interest in a sullen finance dude. A sharp jawline is not any one’s definition of a character. To make matters worse, Owen’s self importance inhibited potential sweet moments; for example, when he brusquely turns away from her after she playfully calls him “kid”, or when he spots her in the bar. It was hard to see in a single one of his stony faces the even slightest hint of interest in her. And to top it all, the supporting story line built around Owen making a deal regarding his hedge fund appears almost as robust as a made of cloth thin shirt.
How about this then: even if the couple who forms the crux of this romantic comedy seems to have no chemistry, at least one can appreciate the view or the resort of the retreat. Alas, this is not Jonny Lee Miller’s ‘The White Lotus’. This is the case where you can look around only while passing. The movie in which Moroccan setting doesn’t wow the audience, because it could easily be replaced with another placeholder name of a trending TikTok location. Whether Ben Smithard’s intention was to have blurry and unsteady images, that was certainly a distraction for this viewer. The narration takes place in a city called Chefchaouen that is only mentioned and admired in passing, rarely is the case with its spectacular azure architecture. The obnoxious personality of the character who plays the role of the resort’s host, Fatema Benzakour (Rachida Brakni), can equally be said of most oher Moroccans. Almost immediately after a writers convention in London, a new character, a Libyan named Rafih (Younès Boucif), becomes more actively involved in the plot but then is never seen again. In other words, many other characters were condensed into an archetype, in many cases witty, spiteful and sexually daring.
In a somber tone, Susannah Grant writes and directs, “Lonely Planet” and even if it did manage to alleviate the feeling of being lonesome, it was without a doubt very minimal. How can we expect an older woman who likes younger men to go for it when the entire Hollywood movie industry is dominated by males falling in love with females and the female protagonist chasing after the intelligent lady’s fragile ego. The romance of the movie was great for its time, and points appealing the comedic aspect of it rather than the idea itself rather portrays a pathetic couple who, heaven forbid, lock eyes together not only once. So, what do people who are normally repulsed by adolescent romance see in its ending? Why it was even a romance.
The film’s makeup artist has already taken care of it by saying, “I could fall for a kid like you” but then Katherine was able to cut through that bull and offend her guilt ridden offender. In her case however, it could be because there simply was not any chemistry to burn the empty screen, let alone, make it warm.
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