The age gap trope in romance has never been a favorite of mine. It usually plays into ageism against women, showing older men with younger women. (I mean, the “dad’s best friend” plot device? GROSS.) However, recently there has been a trend towards an older woman with a younger man on screen. Lonely Planet is part of this trend. This new Netflix romance has a terrific cast and a beautiful setting, but the story turns out to be mostly mediocre.
In Lonely Planet, Laura Dern plays Katherine Loewe, a best-selling author. She just got out of a long-term relationship and is stuck on her latest book. She hopes to move forward with a writer’s retreat in Morocco. Among the other attendees at this retreat is Owen Brophy (Liam Hemsworth). He’s there with his girlfriend Lily (Diana Silvers) who recently published her first novel to great success. As Owen and Lily’s relationship breaks down, Katherine and Owen meet and start to build something together.
As a romantic drama, Lonely Planet is perfectly serviceable. Dern and Hemsworth have effective chemistry, and the locations here photograph like a dream. I just wish the story had something more distinctive and special to offer.
“Death and sex, two things that can’t be undone.”
Katherine’s situation is ploddingly presented in the film’s opening moments. A voice message from her agent makes it clear that making the deadline for this book is all-caps IMPORTANT. Besides that, Katherine also gets real estate ads from her ex because he wants her to move out of their farmhouse as soon as possible. (Yeah, he sounds like a winner.) And the airline lost her luggage. (Why does that always happen in these films?) Clearly, she is in a prime place for some change in her life.
At first, Katherine focuses on working and doesn’t interact with the other writers. But the events of one night bring her face to face with Owen. The next day, they are the only two travelers to go on a nearby excursion. Their rapport is supposed to come off as natural and effortless, though the dialogue is a bit stilted for that. Still, Dern and Hemsworth do what they can to keep it watchable. And the scenery is fantastic.
At this time in the story, Owen and Lily are still together. It’s a bit hard to root for a couple when half of it spends so much time in a relationship with someone else. Plus, breaking up the two requires some plot points that are uninspired, though necessary. These scenes unfortunately highlight the fact that Owen could be more interesting as a character. He’s a finance bro and played football in high school, if that tells you anything.
“If it’s not hard to get then it’s not worth having.”
Despite this, Dern and Hemsworth manage to make it work when Katerine and Owen are together. Especially the physical moments they share. I appreciate how their age difference is not really a topic of discussion between them. It feels like an effort to make the idea of an older woman with a younger man more commonplace and less the butt of “cougar” jokes. The happy ending also feels like a part of that.
Yes, a romantic drama with a positive ending is something I can get behind. The conflict that kicks off the resolution of the story is a double-edged sword. Katerine’s bag, including the laptop containing the book she’s worked so hard on, is stolen by a random thief. She lashes out at Owen, calling him a distraction. In terms of plot, this is a bit contrived, but in terms of performance, this lets Dern and Hemsworth do some good work.
In a similar way, the combination of romance with travelogue has its assets and drawbacks. Seeing gorgeous places like the Moroccan desert preserved on screen is wonderful. But do we really need the heavy-handed metaphor of “going on a journey” related to a love story so often? Maybe not. In any case, Lonely Planet is a decent romance, mostly because of the lead actors, so it is worth enjoying at least once.
3 stars out of 5
Lonely Planet is now streaming on Netflix.
