
The older woman/younger man romantic concept has not been explored like this in a contemporary rom-com – which is what makes “The Idea of You” unique.
Smart, savvy Solene Marchand (Anne Hathaway – at her charming best) is a divorced, 40 year-old mom who owns an art gallery in the trendy Silver Lake section of Los Angeles.
When her feckless ex-husband (Reid Scott) flakes out on a promised trip to Coachella, Solene agrees to chaperone their 16 year-old daughter Izzy (Ella Rubin) and her friends.
Searching for the VIP bathroom at the desert concert venue, Solene accidently stumbles into the trailer belonging to British 24 year-old boy-band heartthrob Hayes Campbell (Nicholas Galitzine), who is immediately attracted to her.
When his group – August Moon – takes the stage, the pop star publicly flirts with Solene, but their rocky road to romance is filled with fame-induced pitfalls – since being with a paparazzi-hounded celebrity is challenging – even though it includes room service in posh hotel suites, glam stylists and private jets.
When she’s ruthlessly denounced as a ‘cougar’ and severely judged severely on social media, it deeply affects dewy yet vulnerable Solene, who describes herself as “a people-pleaser from New Jersey,” making her wonder if you can ever mend your heart after it’s been broken by a massive trust trauma.
Based on Robinne Lee’s popular novel, it’s adapted by Jennifer Westfeldt and director Michael Showalter, who deftly hone in on what happens to a middle-aged woman who defies societal expectations and how those ramifications affect her teenage daughter.
Apparently that’s a poignant topic to which Anne Hathaway can relate, since she’s been the object of social media controversy ever since the cruel backlash after her Oscar-win for “Les Miserables” and has spoken of it to several interviewers.
Recognize Nicholas Galitzine from “Red, White & Royal Blue” and “George & Mary”? Many fans think his Hayes Campbell character was inspired by ‘One Direction’ frontman Harry Styles’ dating ‘older’ Olivia Wilde.
On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Idea of You” is an empathetic 8, an emotional roller-coaster – streaming on Prime Video.
Having established her versatility in “Mad Men” and “The Handmaid’s Tale,” Elisabeth Moss stars in “The Veil” in which she plays an enigmatic rogue MI6 operative determined to uncover a mysterious enemy agent, the mastermind behind an upcoming ISIS terrorist attack on the United States.
Her quest begins in a remote Syrian refugee camp near the border with Turkey, where several women identify and accuse Adilah El Idrissi (Yumna Marwan) of being the ISS agent who tortured them and murdered their families.
Using the pseudonym Imogen Salter, the MI6 agent ‘rescues’ Adilah and begins to subtly quiz her to try to determine if she is – indeed – the cold-blooded killer known as Djinn al Raqqa, a shape-shifting genie, renown in folklore.
Imogen firmly believes that if she can befriend Adilah, she can uncover essential details of her deadly secret mission. Gradually, Imogen and Adilah discover enough intriguing similarities in their damaged backgrounds and experiences to inspire exchanging confidences, particularly about children and families.
Problem is: Imogen’s Muslim lover Malik Amar (Dali Benssalah), an intense French-Algerian agent reporting to Magritte, France’s Directorate-General for External Affairs (Thibault de Montalembert), and aggressive CIA agent Max Peterson (Josh Charles) want to capture Adilah first and ask questions later.
Created by Steven Knight (“Peaky Blinders,” “All the Light We Cannot See”), the unpredictably action-filled, six-episode thriller miniseries starts out strong and then kind of slowly strings the viewer along – intrigued by Elisabeth Moss’s and Yumma Marwan’s convincing adversarial performances.
On the Granger Gauge, “The Veil” is a suspenseful 6, an acting showcase streaming on Hulu – with the possibility of a second season yet to be confirmed.



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