A lacklustre narrative undermines Lonely Planet’s visual appeal, writes Abhi Singhal

Shot with landscapes around Morocco giving a beautiful backdrop, Lonely Planet is an addition to the old woman young man romantics list. The film is an American Netflix romantic drama directed by Susannah Grant. The movie stars Laura Dern as Katherine Loewe and Liam Hemsworth as Owen Brophy. The film plots around a writer, Laura Dern and explores her romantic angle with Owen Brophy after they meet on a retreat of writers.

Laura Dern as Katherine Loewe has been shown as a successful female novelist who comes on a writers retreat to overcome a struggling love life due to a separation from her longtime partner. Liam Hemsworth as Owen Brophy comes on the same retreat with her girlfriend Lily Kemp (played by Diana Silvers), whose first novel becomes a best seller. Changing attitude of Lily Kemp on the retreat creates a rift between her and her boyfriend Owen Brophy, after which Owen finds himself attracted towards Katherine Loewe after meeting her closely in some sudden circumstances.

The story explores an understanding romance between Laura and Liam. The story tries to emphasise on the importance and need of having an understanding partner with whom you can feel light and help you grow, but doesn’t fall up to the point.

Talking about the characters the cast seems to have overplayed their part due to the weak plot. Owen doesn’t have deep talks with his love interest, which is the want of the movie. Laura’s character has been too into herself killing the expectations of what the audience really wants. Lily Kemp's character feels like a character played without an effort.

Lonely Planet fails to deliver the truly wanting script because of its weak plot. It tries to land up to a space of the fantasy world where the guy meets the woman and they fall in love, with all the butterflies which is actually not the demand of the film.

The film's pacing is uneven, with certain scenes dragging while others feel rushed. The ending doesn’t compliment the story at all and becomes too flat. The movie can be too boring for the people who love the romantic genre as it doesn’t live up to the standards. The 96 minutes drama has been failing to deliver a desired thoughtful romance being a romantic genre.

Summarising, Lonely Planet is a missed opportunity. It has the potential to be a poignant and thought-provoking exploration of love and loss, but it settles for a generic and formulaic approach. While the stunning Moroccan landscapes are a visual treat, the film's lackluster script and characters ultimately leave a lot to be desired.                

Rating - 2.5/5