Love Life / Series Review
Title: Love Life
Format: Television Series
Creator: Sam Boyd
Starring: Anna Kendrick
Date of release: 2020
Seasons: 1
Love Life follows Darby's (Anna Kendrick) life from her first to her last love over an expanse of 10 years. It's about who we meet in life that could be with us for a reason, a season or a lifetime and the connections we make. The highs and lows and awkward in-betweens, it's a modern-day romantic comedy set in New York.
Review including spoilers
I enjoyed how real it was. Which feels really silly to say because all tv shows and films are meant to at least have an element of real, aren't they? What I mean by that is it was authentic. It's set in real-time and It wasn't predictable and over-the-top dramatic. It had realistic characters with real jobs that you don't often hear of in films and tv. They would respond to each other with unexpected things to say rather than clichés. At times it was awkward and funny. Overall revealing the imperfections that come with real life.Even the acting style was authentic, whereby the acting didn't always run smoothly but the scene played out as it would in real life. For example, little ad-libs, unexpected sneezes and talking over one another. It wasn't always clean-cut although edited with an attractive style. I had predictions of what would happen but 8 times out of ten they didn't.
Even having the initial narrative in the first episode when you know there's going to be many romances/ relationships before the person, I still kept thinking that it would be the latest person. I forgot that there would be someone else and that's what happens in real life.
My response to each relationship was I hope it works, I hope it works and this is the person for Darby- not all of the guys because I had a disliking to a couple from early on. But I think this is the key takeaway from the series: to set your hopes on the latest guy. Because that's what happens in real life, you become set on the latest person because there has always been one before and this one should be the one; The heartache has been had and now it's time for the good. I'm pleased to have this response because it means that, for me, the series has done its job.
Also like real life, I always hoped that Darby would get back to her first relationship with Augie and this would be the one that lasts. Because how much would that feel like destiny? That being said, I'm really chuffed with who Darby would go on to spend the 'remainder of her days' with. I'm pleased it was someone new and unexpected after she had her baby and her self-confidence had grown. I think it's a relatively new dynamic to introduce to tv and film, having a baby with someone you aren't in a romantic relationship with but are on good terms with. It demonstrates the possibility of co-parenting working well too, which is a positive message.
My response to each relationship was I hope it works, I hope it works and this is the person for Darby- not all of the guys because I had a disliking to a couple from early on. But I think this is the key takeaway from the series: to set your hopes on the latest guy. Because that's what happens in real life, you become set on the latest person because there has always been one before and this one should be the one; The heartache has been had and now it's time for the good. I'm pleased to have this response because it means that, for me, the series has done its job.
Also like real life, I always hoped that Darby would get back to her first relationship with Augie and this would be the one that lasts. Because how much would that feel like destiny? That being said, I'm really chuffed with who Darby would go on to spend the 'remainder of her days' with. I'm pleased it was someone new and unexpected after she had her baby and her self-confidence had grown. I think it's a relatively new dynamic to introduce to tv and film, having a baby with someone you aren't in a romantic relationship with but are on good terms with. It demonstrates the possibility of co-parenting working well too, which is a positive message.
I appreciated that dating more than one guy in your lifetime was normalized. As a young person watching, it means that your hopes aren't ridiculously high and in favour of one person. You learn that there will be someone else after that first heartbreak. To me, it suggests the idea of there being a right person for right now rather than from that point onwards.
On that point, heartbreak doesn't always come from romances but friendships and family relationships too. Darby lives her life with a weight she doesn't properly realize she has and that's her troubled relationship with her mum. Her parents divorced when she was younger and since then she's struggled with rejection and letting herself be loved how she deserves.
You can be heartbroken over a break up with a friend or disappointed by a family member and that can affect you just as much as a romantic relationship coming to an end.
It's very relatable in many ways and not all necessarily relatable to me but from what I've seen happening around me too. The journey covered a lot of events and experiences and there is every possibility that the viewer will relate to one thing or more.
I liked Darby, I rooted for her and I'm pleased to see her find her real person. By the end of the final episode, I was there with her and I'm not ashamed to say that I was a bit emotional to see how content she was. I liked how she was a whole person that's entering into a new relationship, that doesn't require her to feel that she has to rely on the other person to complete her whole being.
I became proud of the person she had become after the trials and tribulations. Especially returning back to the first episode when I could relate to how unsure she is. Throughout the series, you're watching her grow into herself and insecurities, being able to hold her head up. She has expectations of people and how they treat her which comes a long way from the Darby we meet at the beginning. I can only hope that I come to this self-assurance too.
The main thing I got from watching the series is being ok with how your life is turning out. I think it's a really important and key lesson for people to see relationships play out and turn into whatever they are: be it a friendship or that person you'd rather not see ever again, because it's so easy to dwell on how things have happened for you. Especially looking at others live their life and the ideals that are presented to you, it can feel like you're not on the right path and you'd rather have this or be this. I found Darby's self-assurance towards the end of the series inspiring and it presented to me a new ideal of how I want to see the world.
…one of the quotes from the series. That's what I hope to achieve. To be so involved with my own life that it becomes natural to root for myself and focus on my own lane.
Overall, very authentic, very truthful and a fresh delivery of modern-day relationships.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Thank you for reading.
All the love and keep safe,
Buddy xx
Previous Post: Girl About the House: Making One Hundred and Twenty Three Masks
All the love and keep safe,
Buddy xx
Previous Post: Girl About the House: Making One Hundred and Twenty Three Masks
Where to Find Me:
Please note that the photography used in this blog post do not belong to me, however the quote edit is my own.
Comments
Post a Comment