Summary
- Hayes is older in the movie compared to the book, making the age gap between him and Solène less controversial.
- The setting of the initial meeting between Solène and Hayes differs between the book and the movie, with the movie opting for Coachella.
- Izzy's character is aged up in the movie, allowing for a more mature mother-daughter dynamic with Solène.
Based on the novel of the same name by Robinne Lee, The Idea of You movie might have roots in the book, but the many changes make the story unique. The film stars Anne Hathaway as Solène, a single mom in her late 30s, and Nicholas Galitzine as Hayes Campbell, a 24-year-old pop sensation. After a chance encounter the pair embark on a whirlwind romance, but it soon becomes clear that fame might get in the way. The Idea of You is a fun addition to the romance genre, looking at issues facing modern couples, famous or not.
While not all of the alterations work, some of them elevate the preexisting themes and conflicts.
Though some fans have speculated that is based on Harry Styles fan fiction, this isn't entirely true. Young performers like Styles were part of the inspiration for Hayes Campbell's character, he's an amalgamation of the boy band star archetype and Lee wants to keep him that way. The movie stuck to Lee's wishes and made Hayes his own person, but from there the filmmakers tweaked and twisted the story to make it more relatable and engaging to a broad audience. While not all of the alterations work, some of them elevate the preexisting themes and conflicts.
The Idea of You is available to stream on Prime Video.
10 Hayes Is 20 In The Book
He's 24 in the movie
Hathaway and Galitzine's real age gap isn't as large as in the movie, and nowhere close to the one in the book. Solène is 39 in both the book and movie, with the film portraying her 40th birthday party as an event where men her age try and fail to win her over. While age-gap relationships aren't uncommon, especially for celebrities living in the public eye, Hayes being 24 in the film was already a major source of contention within the plot. However, these issues are even more pronounced in the book as Hayes is only 20.
Hayes does pursue Solène in both versions of the story, and he expresses to her that this is what he wants, but it makes sense that Solène would be even more hesitant in the novel.
Although he's British, being 20 in the U.S. means he's under the legal drinking age, and would barely be considered an adult by most people's standards. Hayes does pursue Solène in both versions of the story, and he expresses to her that this is what he wants, but it makes sense that Solène would be even more hesitant in the novel. Aging Hayes up a few years for the film was ultimately the right decision, as audiences were much quicker to accept this dynamic than one between a 20-year-old and someone almost twenty years their senior.
9 Solène & Hayes Meet In Las Vegas In The Book
They meet at Coachella in the movie
The inciting incident of the movie occurs when Solène's daughter, Izzy (Ella Rubin), and her friends are supposed to go to Coachella with her dad, Dan (Reid Scott). As Solène's ex-husband, there's already a lot of tension there, but when Dan cancels because he has to take a work trip last minute, Solène has to accompany the teens to Coachella instead. Part of the trip includes a meet and greet with the band, August Moon, of which Hayes is the frontman. Their meet-cute occurs when Solène is looking for the bathroom and accidentally stumbles into his trailer.
Conversely, in the book, Izzy is still a huge fan of August Moon, and the pair head to a concert in Las Vegas to see the band. It's there where the central couple meet and immediately discover their attraction. Coachella is a more relevant setting for modern-day audiences, and due to the age changes made in the film, it makes more sense that Izzy and her friends would be at Coachella. This also firmly sets the majority of the story in California, making Solène feel comfortable on home turf.
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8 Izzy Is 12 In The Book
The movie ages her up to 16
Being 12, Izzy’s preteen obsession hits closer to home, making it more awkward for Solène to get together with someone her child still has up on a pedestal.
Making Izzy 16 instead of 12 in the movie, opens the door for a deeper and more mature relationship between Solène and her daughter. It also allows the prospect of Izzy leaving for college to be on Solène and Hayes' radar. Being 12, Izzy’s preteen obsession hits closer to home, making it more awkward for Solène to get together with someone her child still has up on a pedestal. Additionally, by having Izzy age out of liking August Moon, The Idea of You grapples with what it means to be an aging boy band star.
This further cements The Idea of You's One Direction connection and helps Izzy understand her mother's actions. The conversations that Izzy and Solène have about their romantic entanglements and adult relationships are much more mature. Since they go through a rough patch later in the story, their early connection creates a strong foundation for their mother-daughter dynamic. Additionally, Izzy being in high school is more relatable for younger viewers who can see themselves in Izzy and find common ground with the characters in the story other than Solène and Hayes.
7 Solène Is More Closed Off In The Book
She's given a warmer personality in the movie
Solène's extended family, especially her mother, plays a bigger role in the book, and there are deeper explanations about her childhood and how that affects her romantic relationships. Though her French name remained the same, Solène mentions she's from New Jersey in the movie, and is a generally open person with many friends and a large social network. Her birthday party is full of attendees, and she accommodates people's needs. This remains true in her relationship with Hayes, who she doesn't have trouble showing affection towards.
Of course, when it counts, Solène struggles to confess the depth of her feelings, but in the book, it's much more than a struggle and Hayes rarely gets to see her affectionate side. Due to their age difference and her French background, Solène is a much more withholding character in the novel. It makes sense that the film wanted to make Solène as likable as possible so her character wouldn't face backlash. However, part of her deeper characterization is lost by making her a universally beloved figure within her close relationships.
6 The Intimate Scenes Are Portrayed Differently
Each medium uses descriptors that best suit the form
The Idea of You isn't the most explicit romance movie out there, but it did earn an R rating for the steamy scenes between Solène and Hayes. For the film, their sexual encounters are played through montage for the most part, and few scenes are lingered on, for the sake of moving the story forward and the potential young audience watching. Overall, there are more of these scenes in the movie, but they go into far less detail than the book. Of course, it's the nature of writing that descriptors are clearer, but the movie is still less graphic.
This is something that the media projects on women as they age, and the fact that The Idea of You novel is so honest about Solène's want and enjoyment of physical intimacy is an important part of the story.
The most important theme of the book is that Solène is reclaiming and recapturing her sexuality after years of feeling like she wasn't desirable anymore. This is something that the media projects on women as they age, and the fact that The Idea of You novel is so honest about Solène's want and enjoyment of physical intimacy is an important part of the story. While the film touches upon this and uplifts Solène's desires, it's most concerned with the romance between the two of them and the outcome of their relationship.
5 Daniel Doesn't Cheat on Solène
They grow apart and come to a mutual decision
The additional layer of Solène's trust issues because of Daniel's cheating was an interesting inclusion in the movie. In the book, almost all of Solène's reticence about committing to her relationship with Hayes comes from the optics of her being older, and her worries about its impact on Izzy. To bulk up the narrative reason for their first breakup, The Idea of You movie made Solène hesitant to embark on a journey of love because of Daniel's betrayal, it also frames Daniel as an obvious bad guy throughout the narrative.
Flipping Daniel from a bad guy at the start to a caring father when the relationship gets out of hand was a strong story choice. It made Solène feel even worse about choosing her happiness over her daughter's upbringing and brought up significant questions. Additionally, the fact that Daniel cheated with a younger woman allows a parallel to be drawn between Solène and Daniel. Their mutual attraction to younger people lets the film directly comment on the ethics and implications of Solène and Hayes' involvement.
4 Hayes Approaches Their Budding Romance More Carefully
He doesn't just show up at the gallery
When Hayes appears at Solène's gallery out of nowhere in the movie and buys her entire collection it sets the tone that Hayes knows what he wants and plans on pursuing Solène with everything he has.
The spark Hayes and Solène feel in the movie and book is obvious from the start, but Hayes is more subtle in his attempts at courtship in the book. When Hayes appears at Solène's gallery out of nowhere in the movie and buys her entire collection it sets the tone that Hayes knows what he wants and plans on pursuing Solène with everything he has. This is a more significant statement than him tracking down her phone number and inviting her to lunch, which he does in the novel.
They reunite later in New York in both iterations, but in the novel, Solène is there on a work trip and doesn't come for the express purpose of seeing Hayes. Making the intentions clear and allowing the characters to be explicit about what they want in the movie, adds agency to Solène and Hayes' characters. They seem more like adults on equal footing rather than kids dancing around a budding romance. Solène is more inclined to see Hayes as a real romantic prospect because of how he acts in the film.
3 Hayes Didn't Audition For August Moon
The band was formed organically through friendship
Although August Moon isn't a real band, it has drawn many comparisons with One Direction, the boy band that Harry Styles was part of. In the film, Hayes' trajectory of seemingly going solo later in his career after he and Solène break up mirrors Styles' track, as is the movie's explanation for how the band was formed. During one of their conversations in the film, Hayes talks about being young when he auditioned for August Moon and not understanding the implications of fame. This is reminiscent of Styles' formation of One Direction to go on The X Factor.
However, in the book, August Moon was a ion project Hayes started with his friends, which would also for the larger role some of his bandmates play in the book. Oliver, Hayes' friend, and member of August Moon, is more of a background character in the film and causes trouble by telling Solène about Hayes' past relationships with other women. In the novel's story, Oliver and Hayes are much closer, having been friends since they were young, which makes it more of a betrayal when Oliver tries to seduce Solène in Lee’s version.
2 Movie Izzy Stands Up For Solène At First
Due to her age change, Izzy has a different initial reaction
As she's a good deal older and in a different phase of life, Izzy is quick to jump to her mom's defense and advocate for her right to be with whomever she wants. In the movie, Izzy is shocked by the news, but almost immediately jumps on board with the plan to incorporate Hayes into her life because she wants Solène to be happy. Her anger isn't pointed toward Solène when she finds out, but at the media for treating her mother terribly because of her position in society as an older woman.
Though the reality of fame and media exposure eventually gets to Izzy in the movie, her response in the novel is one of outright anger.
However, this mature response isn't something the younger Izzy in the book is capable of. Though the reality of fame and media exposure eventually gets to Izzy in the movie, her response in the novel is one of outright anger. She catches Solène and Hayes kissing and can't believe her mother would do this to her, and then is mocked in school when explicit pictures of the couple are leaked to the press. The anguish that Izzy feels in the book puts even more pressure on Solène to end things with Hayes, and soon.
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1 Solène Permanently Cuts Ties With Hayes
Instead of getting back together years later
Though The Idea of You set up a perfect ending for Solène where she could move on and maintain her growth and independence at the same time, the pull to create the perfect fairytale ending was too strong. In the book, Solène and Hayes' breakup is permanent, and the pair never get back together, and likely never see each other again. Though this isn't the happily ever after ending that romance readers typically expect, it did align more closely to Solène's character, and cement her commitment to Izzy and being a good mother.
In the movie, the flash-forward to five years later, and Hayes and Solène pick up where they left off now that Izzy has gone to college, and Hayes is slightly older. Though it's undeniably satisfying to see the main couple get back together at the end of a romantic story, for readers of the book this conclusion could be viewed as a bit of a letdown. There's no indication that the deeper emotional issues that plagued the couple have been resolved, and Solène will likely still face backlash for being with a high-profile celebrity.
The Idea of You
- Release Date
- May 2, 2024
- Runtime
- 115 Minutes
- Director
- Michael Showalter
Cast
Anne Hathaway Nicholas Galitzine
Ella Rubin
WHERE TO WATCH
Based on the acclaimed, contemporary love story of the same name, The Idea of You centers on Solène (Anne Hathaway), a 40-year-old single mom who begins an unexpected romance with 24-year-old Hayes Campbell (Nicholas Galitzine), the lead singer of August Moon, the hottest boy band on the planet. When Solène must step in to chaperone her teenage daughter’s trip to the Coachella Music Festival after her ex bails at the last minute, she has a chance encounter with Hayes and there is an instant, undeniable spark. As they begin a whirlwind romance, it isn’t long before Hayes’ superstar status poses unavoidable challenges to their relationship, and Solène soon discovers that life in the glare of his spotlight might be more than she bargained for.
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