Not About Love

Rating: 4/10 (5 November 2016)

*** Warning Spoilers Below ***
This is not a story about love, it's a story about selfishness. The selfishness of the lead female character who treats badly her 7 year boyfriend for someone she only just met. The selfishness of the disabled lead male character who despite having the love of his family and carers, money and means to have a life chooses not to, sacrificing the feelings of the girl he just met with a crass financial payoff at the end of the film. The selfishness of the parent who thinks this is the only way forward. The selfishness of the boyfriend who puts his fitness ahead of his relationship. If this film was attempting to show selfishness and greed, and above all that money is the most important motive to happiness then it succeeded.
This is not a story about emotion, it's a story full of stereotypes and short-hand signposts with predictable results. We know the lead female is ditsy because she wears a different bizarre outfit in every scene despite having no money. We have the grumpy lead male character she tries unsuccessfully to thaw the heart of. We are made to feel OK about the way the boyfriend is treated because he buys her a not so great birthday present. In fact the one scene with real emotion involved the boyfriend calling into question the whole moral of the film. What little chemistry is there between the lead characters seems only made possible through money – expensive concerts and holidays. If the disabled lead male was poor this may have been a better film, but that would have involved trying harder so was avoided. Finally, the incessant use of the lead females surname by the lead male when talking to her is annoying and an unnecessary attempt to be cutesy that doesn't work. Or it's a clever signpost that to the lead male, the lead female is ultimately still an employee of his rich family despite what the story is trying to make us believe.
The film is watchable and for that it's awarded a 4 rating, but know what not to expect.