The love story of Solène (Anne Hathaway), a 40-year-old divorced mother, and Hayes Campbell (Nicholas Galitzine), a 24-year-old young man who is the lead singer of a famous boy band, began in the book “The idea of you” (“The Idea of You” in Latin America and “The Idea of Having You” in Spain) by Robinne Lee, but it became an Amazon Prime Video film starring Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Galitzine. But what are the differences between the novel and the romantic comedy?
Although without a doubt the most important change is the ending, there are other small details that Michael Showalter decided to alter in his feature film that premiered on May 2, 2024. While in the film the couple meets at the Coachella Festival, in the book Sol takes his daughter Isabelle and her two friends to an August Moon gathering in the basement of the Mandalay Bay hotel in Las Vegas.
Another significant difference between the film “The Idea of You” and Robinne Lee’s novel is Solène’s relationship with her daughter. In the first, Izzy (Ella Rubin), although she is angry because they hid her relationship from her, shows her support and also clarifies that her favorite was always Rory (Dakota Adan). However, in the book the romance is a very hard blow for Isabelle, who distances herself from her mother.
WHY IS THE ENDING OF THE BOOK “THE IDEA OF YOU” DIFFERENT FROM THE ENDING OF THE AMAZON PRIME VIDEO MOVIE?
Nevertheless, the most important difference is the ending of the love story of Solène Marchand and Hayes Campbell. In the book, Soléne ends her relationship with the singer, stating that she did not love him, but the idea of him. Although he writes several times in the following months, she never responds.. While in the Amazon Prime Video moviethe art expert ends her romance because the harassment and criticism from the press and fans begin to affect her daughter.
Hayes suggests giving up his musical career to continue their relationship, but Sol refuses. One night, the singer shows up at Soléne’s house to ask her to reconsider her decision in five years, when Izzy is in college and his career is different. Although there is no affirmative answer, After that time, they meet again. After finishing his musical tour, Hayes shows up at the art church and Sol greets him with a wide smile. The scene suggests that they could resume their romance, that is, it gives hope.
In fact, the director of “The Idea of You” explained the ambiguity of the ending in an interview with TV Insider. “There is a long history in romantic movies of changing the ending so that the two protagonists end up together in the end.”explained Cathy Schulman. “There is a somewhat pragmatic answer to this and that is that the audience just wants, at least, for there to be some hope for these characters at the end of the film.”.
“We don’t have to tell the audience exactly how it ends. We’re not telling the audience exactly where things end. But at least we’re giving the public a chance to try to complete it themselves. As a fan of the genre, I love a romantic story that ends with the two main characters having coffee because that tells me that there is hope”he added.
Likewise, director and co-writer Michael Showalter told TV Line that he wanted to “give the audience a feeling of hope”. ““I’m also very aware that fans of the book may feel like we made a big mistake,” he added, “but I also hope that the movie introduces this story and these characters to new fans. And hopefully, they’ll read the book and see that it’s different, and people can continue talking about which version makes the most sense”.
WHAT DOES THE WRITER THINK ABOUT THE CHANGE IN “THE IDEA OF YOU”?
“Hollywood has a way of wanting to wrap things up in a nice bow and tie them all together, and I knew that would probably happen if [le daba] this book to someone to adapt it“Robinne Lee told TVLine. “That’s why [el libro] It was so sexy. That’s why she ended up like this.” With the film, “I knew it would be made by an American director and producers, [y] I guess it was going to lose a lot of that French character, so I wasn’t surprised when they put a ‘Five years later…’”
Although she understands the change in the film, the author of the famous book pointed out that her story reflects the idea that “Sometimes you have loves so deep that they don’t work because love doesn’t conquer everything (..) It was [el] wrong place and the wrong time in their lives, but they were the right people for each other. The timing just didn’t match.”.
