What is the true meaning of love? Do we actually make an impact on the people we touch in our lives? Is it possible to find success and love with the person most important to us? Many films have attempted to answer these questions, particularly in the romance department. Some are middling at best, while others carry deeper subtext and are frequently heartbreaking masterpieces, such as Blue Valentine or La La Land. Charlie Harper is a devastating addition to the romantic drama canon. A charming Nick Robinson and a sugary sweet Emilia Jones act as our central couple, and their chemistry absolutely soars.
Since his appearance in underrated indie Kings of Summer, I have followed Nick Robinson across every facet of his career, from unique turns in TV miniseries to visits to Jurassic World and his breakout success in Love, Simon. Here, Robinson plays Charlie, an extremely talented hopeful who comes from a trailer park background, yet carries greater aspirations for himself. Charlie lives with his father, reads constantly, and has a psychic mother living in Portland. He likes to be the one to choose his ambitions, and he frequently falls back into his alcoholism when confronted with ugly truths he cannot accept.
Harper (Emilia Jones, Locke & Key, CODA) longs of becoming a chef rather than going to college. She seems to be the woman of Charlie’s dreams. The two once met when Charlie was a teacher’s aide, and would go on to reconnect many times before eventually developing a true relationship. Harper may seem far more ambitious than Charlie, but how much of her success can be attributed to a chance of circumstance? Harper starts as a chef when the duo move to New Orleans, and her boss practically fires her on the spot when she goes out to celebrate her success and winds up with a nasty hangover. Still, Harper has to earn her place there, working her way up.
They bond over poetry and music. Throughout the film, we get snapshots of Charlie at every stage of his relationship with Harper. But as Harper rises, Charlie falls deeper into dangerous patterns with alcohol and an aimlessness that drives her crazy. It’s easy to see both sides here, and what the duo each want from one another. How can we not crave the best case scenario for a lover? Certain things can only be fulfilled by one’s own will. You cannot force someone to get the job you want them to have, nor can you make them want better for themselves. It has to be a drive within. This only emphasizes how deeply the duo manage to change one another. And this much is certainly quite accurate: we are never the same people we started as after being confronted with genuine love.
The nonlinear structure beautifully mirrors the way we actually remember relationships. The bigger picture does not function as a perfectly ordered timeline, but as scattered moments. The first party, a nostalgic song, a stupid argument, a night out—these are the moments that count. The intimacy of Charlie Harper cuts incredibly deep, and both Robinson and Jones are up to the task. The end of a relationship doesn’t erase everything wonderful that came before it. Sometimes loving someone means accepting that they were meant to become part of your story rather than an endgame.
As a romantic at heart, the message of Charlie Harper spoke to me so deeply. It not only scratches an itch for authenticity, but it also gets into the darker side of relationships. It handles cheating, disagreements over basic elements, and the tumultuous way we can accidentally hurt the ones we hold dearest. The writing allows for a surprising amount of depth and realism. This is not a cookie/cutter romance, nor is it some kind of fairytale. It’s not even necessarily a feel-good, comfort watch type of movie. But Tom Dean and Mac Eldridge’s film does have powerful themes, and feels raw and authentic in a way that few romances can muster. A heartbreaking dissection of a heterosexual relationship, Charlie Harper is adorable and devastating in equal measure.
Fall in and out of love with Charlie Harper, unfolding in theatres on Friday, September 25th.
