Written by Nynoshka Vazquez-Suazo
In the next five minutes (or however long it takes you to read this), you will fall in love with these characters. And maybe, just maybe, you’ll start believing in fate and … Love at First Sight.
The Netflix original, Love at First Sight, follows the whirlwind romance of Hadley Sullivan (Haley Lu Richardson, The White Lotus) and Oliver Jones (Ben Hardy, X-Men: Apocalypse). After missing her flight for her father’s wedding in London, she meets Oliver, who also happens to be on the next flight across the pond. There is an instant spark. Oliver, who lives for statistics, stands corrected, as the next seven hours on a plane prove to him that sometimes some risks are worth taking.
The film take place over a single day at the airport, on the plane, and the characters’ respective events. While for some it seems fast and unrealistic, yours truly can argue the contrary. This film is for the hopeless romantic. It’s for those who believe that one person, if it is the right person, can change your life in a single second, where a single glance is enough to make you fall in love.
The chemistry between the actors is imminent within their first interaction. Hadley and Oliver are the literal personification of every young person’s imagination. That moment when you realize the cute person, who looks around your age, is on the same flight as you. Then you go on to imagine a hundred different scenarios of the two of you meeting and falling for each other. Yeah, that’s this entire film.
Haley and Oliver are opposites, but the film highlights that as a positive, and simultaneously highlights their similarities. Connecting them through their parental trauma and seeing how they are there for each other is a true tear-jerker.
Arguably the best element of the film is the Narrator played by Jameela Jamil. The breaking the fourth wall is enough to positively contribute to the film without taking away from the main characters and storyline. It also adds some comedic relief to the somewhat tender moments.
In addition, the idea of a live memorial (a memorial for someone who is dying but has not yet died) was hilarious. Add a Shakespeare theatrical troupe to it, and it becomes the most unique plot twist and beam of light within the film.
One thing the film could have done differently is the escalation of conflict. The conflict within the film was weak and was resolved within ten minutes. If there was a bigger escalation with a longer period of tension, it could’ve made the entire message of the film – fate, and love at first sight – so much more powerful.
That being said, Love at First Sight has very quickly become a feel-good-feel-extremely-
