“The Idea of You”, which was released on Amazon Prime early in this month, is an intimate romantic comedy film which turns out to be more than the gender-reversal version of “Notting Hill” (1999). While we already have a pretty good idea about what and how it is about, the movie surprises us with its thoughtful handling of the story and characters, and we come to care more about the romance inside the story than expected.

Anne Hathaway, who has steadily advanced with her stellar career even after her Oscar-winning supporting turn in “Les Misérables” (2012), plays Solène, a divorced woman who has run her little art gallery in LA. For her upcoming 40th birthday, Solène is simply going to have a solitary but peaceful private time outside the city while her adolescent daughter Izzy (Ella Rubin) will spend some time at Coachella along with her close friends, but there comes an unexpected problem at the very last minute. Her husband was supposed to take Izzy and her friends to Coachella, but he happens to have some urgent business schedule change, so Solène has to do the job instead.

While Izzy and her friends are not very enthusiastic about a certain British boy band they are about to meet, Solène is not particularly interested about that either, but then she happens to encounter a member of that British boy band in question when she mistakes his trailer for a toilet. While she is naturally quite embarrassed about her mistake, Hayes (Nicholas Galitzien) is totally cool about that, and Solène and her daughter get to know a bit about this hunky dude during their subsequent meeting with him.

Anyway, it gradually turns out that Hayes is actually smitten with Solène. To her surprise, he suddenly shows up at her gallery, and, after looking around here and there in the gallery, he eventually decides to buy everything inside it. Although knowing well that he is just trying to impress her in a rather superficial way, Solène also cannot help but attracted more to Hayes, and she comes to show him more of what has been stored by her while also teaching him a little on how to regard artworks with more attention and consideration.

In the end, Solène find herself inviting Hayes to her suburban house, and he comes to show more of his growing feelings toward her. While being more aware of many differences between them besides the considerable age gap, she eventually lets herself go along with the mutual attraction between them. Although she later tries to believe that it was just one headless moment of sexual urge to be forgotten sooner or later, she still cannot say no when he later invites her to join his upcoming Europe concert tour, and she surely sees more of how famous he really is.

Naturally, Solène prefers to keep their burgeoning romance in secret, and Hayes has no problem with that, but then she comes to discern more of how things can be quite burdensome for both of them if their romance is exposed in public at any chance. No matter how much they try to keep their relationship hidden behind them, the people around them begin to notice bit by bit, and the other issues surrounding their relationship also often put a strain on their romance.

Nevertheless, both Solène and Hayes feel happy and comfortable whenever they are together in private. The movie, which is based on the novel of the same name by Robinne Lee, provides a series of private moments between them which are handled with enough care and sensitivity. While Solène becomes more aware of how she still desires sex and romance despite being 40, Hayes comes to have more reflection on what he should do with his life and career in the future, and Solène sincerely supports his little artistic project.

I must tell you that it is initially a little difficult for me to accept Hathaway as a plain normal suburban mother due to her inherent star quality, but she compensates for that with a solid performance packed with enough emotional nuances to be observed. While occasionally showing some sense of humor, Hathaway, who also participated in the production of the movie, diligently holds the film to the ground with a substantial amount of gravitas, and we accordingly become more engaged in her character’s emotional journey along the story.

On the opposite, Nicholas Galitzine, a British newcomer who recently drew our attention with his nice comic performance in “Red, White & Royal Blue” (2023), effectively complements Hathaway, and their low-key chemistry on the screen is one of the key factors in the success of the movie. In case of several supporting performers around them, Ella Rubin has a good moment when her character has a honest private conversation with Solène later in the film, and Annie Mumolo and Reid Scott bring some extra humor to the story during their brief appearances.

“The Idea of You” is directed by Michael Showalter, who wrote its adapted screenplay along with Jennifer Westfeldt. As shown from his previous works such as “The Big Sick” (2017) or “Spoiler Alert” (2022), Showalter is a good filmmaker who knows how to mix comedy and drama well enough to amuse and then touch us, and “The Idea of You” is surely the latest example of that. The overall result is still a bit too predictable, but it has enough wit and heart at least, and that is enough for me for now.