Two of the more formative moments in anyone’s life is losing someone close to you, and definitely fighting with your parents. Whether you’re regretting the epic showdown you had with your parents over getting a nose piercing in 2004, or genuinely touched after the loss of a parent, Regretting You, is sure to bring a tear to your eye, but in a very good way. Director Josh Boone brings his previous tearjerker experience from the smash hit The Fault in Our Stars, with another best seller adaptation, this time from Colleen Hoover’s novel of the same name. The story itself deals with cross-generational issues of grief, guilt and miscommunication with a unique one-in-a-million storyline, but is somehow all too relatable.
The film follows the story of mother-daughter pair Morgan Grant (Allison Williams) and Clara (McKenna Grace) as their lives are pitched into turmoil after a car accident leads to the death of dad and father Chris (Scott Eastwood) and Morgan’s sister, Clara’s aunt, Jenny (Willa Fitzgerald). This also sweeps in their brother in law and uncle Jonah (Dave Franco), who is also plagued by grief, and Clara’s love interest Mason (Miller James). The storyline is complicated, messy and poignantly human, with the defining theme being the ways in which various characters make decisions and take actions that ultimately they come to regret and have to make amends for in their own ways, hence the name of the film.
The strength of the story overall and this particular cinematic portrayal is the relationship between female characters at the heart of the narrative. Whether it’s the way that their intrinsic need to compare themselves saps the joy in the relationship between the two sisters in the exposition, or the way that the relationship between Clara and Morgan is twisted with grief. Williams gives a performance that is achingly vulnerable and raw, presenting the side of adulthood we all feel but rarely see on screen – the tug of war between the urge to be a careful and responsible adult and the wildness of an inner child who wants to follow their dreams. As a young mother Morgan feels this even more deeply, the need to care for a baby being thrust on her from a young age. McKenna also gives a flawless presentation of an incredibly flawed teen – a bundle of rage and hormones trying to learn to navigate the world around her at the same time as an unimaginable loss. Neither character is perfect and that vulnerability gives us all the more reason to empathise with them.
While the majority of the film is a triumph of human condition – a veritable whirlwind of foot-in-mouth moments and slamming doors, with a very cathartic sweeping ending, parts feel completely contrived and cliche. It’s the twist that we can all see coming or the eventual romance between the two adults, the powerful acting can only prop up so many trite moments. Additionally, there are some choices that may have audiences thinking – ‘wait, would a real person really say that?’.
While it won’t make it into the hallowed halls of Arthouse cinema, it’s not meant to. Regretting You is a shining example of its genre, a rom-com tearjerker that will do more than just keep you occupied for an hour or two. With gritty discussion of the human condition and strong acting it’s definitely worth a watch or two.
8/10
